Georgian Parliament Chair asks Venice Commission to suspend transparency bill evaluation following recall
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday asked the Venice Commission to suspend the body’s evaluation of the domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence. Photo: Parliament press office
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday asked Bazy Malaurie, the President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, to suspend the body’s evaluation of the domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, after the draft law was withdrawn by the ruling party earlier during the day.
In a letter sent to the CoE official Papuashvili cited “false narratives” having “misled” the country’s citizens about the intentions of the legislative piece and “reinforced confrontation”.
Describing the ruling party as a “responsible actor careful about peace, stability and prosperity” in the country, Papuashvili said the upcoming procedures in the Parliament would ensure the rejection of the bill.
Passed its first hearing at the lawmaking body earlier this week, the legislative piece called for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “agents of foreign influence” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
Its discussions were accompanied by heated exchanges and clashes between MPs, as well as public rallies outside the Parliament in Tbilisi. Police said it had arrested 133 on Tuesday and Wednesday at the rallies for “violation of public order [and] rule of law”.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling party in the Parliament, on Thursday said the bill would fail at the second hearing as prescribed by procedures for withdrawn legislation.
The European Union representation in Georgia and the bloc’s officials have welcomed the ruling party's recall of the bill, urging “all political actors” in the country to focus on the implementation of the 12-point conditions outlined by it in 2022 for granting the EU membership candidate status to Georgia later this year.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the party had used the principle of ensuring safety of those protesting against the bill on transparency of foreign influence as the “main starting point” in withdrawing the legislative initiative.
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy, on Thursday welcomed the decision of the ruling Georgian Dream party to withdraw the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Georgian police arrested 133 individuals during protests outside the Parliament in central Tbilisi on Tuesday and Wednesday against the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced on Thursday.
The ruling Georgian Dream party on Thursday said it was “unconditionally” withdrawing the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence that was met by a backlash by domestic opposition, civil sector and diplomatic representations in the country, citing the interest of maintaining domestic “tranquillity”, the country’s development and its European integration aspirations as factors behind the decision.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday called on domestic opposition “to refrain from speculations”, stressing a “political decision” made by the party to withdraw the bill on transparency of foreign influence from the Parliament, could not be revised “under any circumstances”.
Georgian Parliament on Friday formally retracted the draft law on transparency of foreign influence, following the decision by the ruling Georgian Dream party to withdraw the bill.
Young demonstrators on Friday prevented Giorgi Vashadze, the head of the Strategy Agmashenebeli opposition party, from addressing the audience outside the Parliament in Tbilisi before they ended the rally against the now-shelved controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence.