Georgian PM, OSCE PA President, officials discuss domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence
The PM expressed readiness “to listen and discuss all specific legal comments” regarding the draft law “with due attention, for which we can use the relevant procedure of legislative discourse”. Photo via Government Administration
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said he had discussed the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence with Pia Kauma, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other senior officials.
In a social media post, Kobakhidze noted he “had a very substantial meeting” with the officials, where he “explained the substance and context of the legislative initiative”, 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.
The PM expressed readiness “to listen and discuss all specific legal comments” regarding the draft law “with due attention, for which we can use the relevant procedure of legislative discourse”.
In her turn, Kauma said noted "a constructive discussion" with the Georgian Head of the Government about the transparency bill, and stressed she was "pleased" that Georgian Government wanted to engage in dialogue with their international partners.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said he had discussed the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence with Charles Michel, the President of the European Council.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday told Derek Chollet, the Counselor of the United States Department of State, he was “sincerely disappointed” with the former US Ambassador Kelly Degnan’s “support” for “two revolution attempts” in the country between 2020 and 2023, alleging the attempts had been carried out through domestic NGOs “financed from external sources”.
Gert Jan Koopman, the Head of the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, on Thursday called on everyone in Georgia “to lower the temperature” in the country amid the protest rallies against the bill on transparency of foreign influence.
The United States Department of State on Wednesday condemned what it called a “Kremlin-inspired” bill on transparency of foreign influence, advanced in Georgia’s Parliament, and the “false narrative” it said Georgian Government officials had adopted to defend it.