Parliament Committee Chair: adoption of foreign transparency law “strengthens state sovereignty”

Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, on Tuesday said the legislative body had “supported strengthening of the country’s sovereignty” through its adoption of the law on transparency of foreign influence earlier during the day.

Okhanashvili’s comments followed after the Parliament adopted the bill reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party on the backdrop of ongoing public protests.

We have supported our public's right to know what funds are coming in [the country], how they are spent and for what purpose. Accordingly, any [potential foreign] sanctions [in response] are secondary [in this situation]”, the lawmaker said.

He also said the Government would “protect the interests of the country to the end”.

“We protect the interests of the citizens and the country [...] to strengthen the sovereignty of this country and to avoid development of revolutionary and radical processes”, he concluded.

The legislative piece, which 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, was supported by 84 MPs in the 150-member lawmaking body, with 30 voting against.