The law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” adopted in Georgia is essentially a law on transparency of the revolution that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) wanted to organize in the country. This was stated by the Prime Minister of the Republic Irakli Kobakhidze. “Without any justification, when Georgia was the clear leader among these four countries (meaning Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia itself, Moldova, Ukraine - TASS note), we were denied (granting status candidate for EU membership in 2022 - TASS note). This was used by a specific group of large NGOs to try to organize a revolution, this was followed by steps on our part, including the adoption of a law on transparency. said, not even against the revolution. This is a law on the transparency of the revolution,” Kobakhidze said in an interview with Adjara Television. As the prime minister noted, “if someone wants to try to organize a revolution in Georgia, let him try, but this attempt must be transparent.” Parliament On May 14, Georgia adopted the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” in the third reading, which provoked harsh statements from the European Union and the United States. The President of the Republic, Salome Zurabishvili, vetoed the law on May 18, but the parliament overrode it on May 28. NGOs have repeatedly stated that they will not register in the register if the law is adopted, since they do not consider it fair to be called organizations that promote the interests of a foreign power. Georgian authorities insist that the law is needed only for financial transparency, and financing from abroad precisely means promoting foreign interests.
The law applies to non-governmental organizations and media, more than 20% of whose funding comes from abroad. Such NGOs are required to submit a declaration of income and expenses to the Ministry of Justice in January of each year. Otherwise, they face a fine of 25 thousand lari (more than $9.2 thousand). If the declaration is not submitted after the first fine, then 20 thousand lari (more than $7.3 thousand) will be charged for each month of delay. Registration of organizations in the register began on August 1.
