PM criticises German Ambassador’s “misinformed” claims about alleged discussion of transparency law negatively during German visit

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday criticised German Ambassador Peter Fischer for his latest claims as if the Georgian delegation, during the official visit to Germany earlier this month, had been advised against adopting the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, adding Fischer “was misinformed” by representatives of the Lelo opposition party.

Kobakhidze advised the Ambassador to verify information, explaining that the questions and concerns about the bill had been adequately addressed at his meetings with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Bärbel Bas, the President of the Bundestag.

The PM confirmed that during the meeting with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the latter had said the transparency bill “was not in line with” the European Union principles, on which Kobakhidze had shared his opinion, citing the approval of the similar law by the European Commission and France, and that “no one criticised France for this [adopting the transparency bill]”.

The German officials' questions came based on the information they were given, as they could not read the Georgian law themselves, the Head of the Government stressed.

Kobakhidze also criticised the German Ambassador’s alleged association with Georgian political figures from the Lelo party, suggesting that this relationship might have influenced his views on the matter.

In response to the journalists’ questions about criticism from foreign partners, the PM said “We remember many cases when they asked us for wrong things, including based on wrong information”, citing the démarche of the EU member state ambassadors last year expressing concern over the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s health.