Georgia, as sovereign, independent country, can adopt law it wants - French Ambassador on transparency bill
Answering a journalist’s question about the adoption of the draft law on combating external interference by the French National Assembly, Gasri said “the Georgian bill is not a French law”. Photo via Sheraz Gasri/twitter
Tweet 
Share
Sheraz Gasri, the French Ambassador to Georgia, on Tuesday said Georgia, as an independent and sovereign country, “can adopt the law it wants”, but noted the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence, introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party, “does not correspond to the values of the European Union”.
In her comments to the media, Gasri expressed the opinion of her country and other European Union member states, who were supporting Georgia’s European integration, but stressed “We [diplomatic corps, EU states] are not the ones who should conduct negotiations on laws”, adding it had to be discussed by the country’s Government and the Georgian people.
What I can say as a representative of the French Government and the EU member state is that we welcome Georgia to the European family”, the Ambassador pointed out.
Answering a journalist’s question about the adoption of the draft law on combating external interference by the French National Assembly, Gasri said “the Georgian bill is not a French law”.
The draft law, which was retracted last year following the public protestს, calls for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of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.
Sheraz Gasri, the French Ambassador to Georgia, on Tuesday said violence was “never a solution in a democracy”, in comments after a heated discussion on the controversial bill on the transparency of foreign influence in the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Legal Issues saw Aleko Elisashvili, the leader of the Citizens opposition party, physically assault Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the legislative body.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday claimed the aim of public protests over the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence was to “suppress discussion and stage violent scenes”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence was “compatible with the European human rights standards does not restrict the freedom of association”, in response to comments by Michael O'Flaherty, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, who last week expressed concerns about the draft law.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday said access to information was a “legitimate right of citizens”, in response to criticism from some member states of the European Union and domestic opposition over the ruling Georgian Dream party’s reintroduction of a controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence.