CoE Sec Gen urges Georgian MPs to wait for Venice Commission’s opinion before adopting transparency bill
The CoE Sec Gen condemned the violence in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi over recent days and denounced the “disproportionate use of force against demonstrators”, expressing hope that the constructive dialogue would continue between Georgia and the CoE. Photo via MFA of Georgia
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Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on Thursday urged the Georgian MPs to wait for the Venice Commission’s opinion on the controversial draft law on transparency of foreign influence before its final adoption.
Burić said she was “deeply concerned” by the developments unfolding in Georgia and regretted the Parliament’s adoption in the second reading of the transparency bill “despite calls by Georgia’s international partners to withdraw it”.
An enabling environment for civil society and the media is essential for a vibrant and fully functioning democracy. Transparency should not be used as an instrument to stigmatise civil society organisations and limit their capacity to operate freely”, she added.
The CoE Sec Gen condemned the violence in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi over recent days and denounced the “disproportionate use of force against demonstrators”, expressing hope that the constructive dialogue would continue between Georgia and the CoE.
The protests are held against the bill that 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.
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.
Robin Dunnigan, the United States' Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said she was “deeply concerned” that in recent weeks the Georgian Government’s “choices have moved the country away” from its Euro-Atlantic future.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said once the bill on the transparency of foreign influence, currently in hearings in the Parliament, entered into force Georgian citizens would “know who is a friend and an enemy of this country”.
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on Wednesday said she was following the situation in Georgia with “great concern” and condemned the violence amid protest rallies against the bin on transparency of foreign influence.