PM: Georgian bill on transparency of foreign influence provides for only “minimum standard” of transparency

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said the controversial Georgian bill on transparency of foreign influence, resubmitted by the parliamentary majority last week, provided for only “minimum standard” of transparency.

The controversial bill, retracted last year following the public protests, calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

In his comments to the media Kobakhidze said his Government was open for discussions and in case there were no counter arguments the law would be passed and added “nothing can stand in front of the adoption of the law”.

Kobakhidze noted he had a discussion regarding this law with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

I explained to him everything related to the re-initiation of this bill. This is because the transparency of the activities of non-governmental organisations was not ensured during the entire year. We had consultations with the relevant donor organisations, they promised us transparency, but in reality it was not fulfilled”, he said.

There are very vicious manifestations that can have a certain negative reflection on society. Therefore, everything should be done to ensure transparency in the end. This is our main task”, he added.

The PM said he made it “clear” this draft that had been initiated was “very short” and it provided only one thing which was the declaration of an annual report by non-governmental organisations and relevant media, and noted there was “nothing problematic” for the country’s democracy in this regard, adding all this would have “only positive results” for democracy.

Kobakhidze said an organisation was called a foreign interest organisation when an organisation that finances another had a “particular interest” and the funding that flows to the respective organisation served this purpose, as a result the foreign interest organisation was “simply a statement of fact”, he added the opponents of the law should present arguments, without which "it is our honour not to change the decision."

He added the initiators of the law were ready for an “open, public discussion”.

Whoever wants to participate in the discussions related to the law, I am personally ready to get involved, whether they are diplomats, politicians, representatives of non-governmental organisations or ordinary opponents of this law”.

The PM added he was ready to “personally convince” the opponents as the Government had a “firm” position regarding the law.

He also mentioned a translator [Zaal Andronikashvili], who translated his and the Chancellor's live press conference earlier today and said he had “falsified” Scholz’s words as the German officials had not used the term "agents' law" which he said was an “evil use” of the translator's function.

Kobakhidze also said the translator was one of the faces of the Georgian radical opposition and expressed his hope the Chancellor's office would find out how Andronikashvili was involved as a translator in this process and added the “particular opposition politician would be held accountable for falsifying the words of the Chancellor”.