Parliament Vice Speaker rejects sanctions being “used against friends” amid controversy around transparency bill

Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze on Tuesday rejected the idea of foreign sanctions being imposed on Georgian officials amid the controversy around the domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence by saying “sanctions are not used against friends”.

Speaking on the backdrop of ongoing public protests against the bill’s final hearings at the Parliament, Talakvadze said the Government was “not afraid of sanctions being imposed for [its] decision to protect the country’s democracy and sovereignty”.

If sanctions are imposed on someone for the protection of our country's democracy, sovereignty - for decisions that Western democracies themselves have made - we are not really afraid of such sanctions”, he said.

“Sanctions are not imposed against friends, and this legislation refers to internal affairs of Georgia. Accordingly, consideration of sanctions will not be serious in this case, when the Parliament of Georgia and the Government elected by the people make such a decision, which has already been made by a number of EU countries and developed democracies globally”, he noted.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday said  “no substantial changes” would be made to the bill during discussions with international partners on Tuesday, adding the draft law would be adopted the same day by the Parliament.

The legislative piece 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.