BLC lawyer Katie Kvartskhava states that Europe and America do not have legislation similar to the bill "on Transparency Of Foreign Influence". According to the lawyer, it does not serve transparency and its only purpose is to declare organizations with a different opinion as enemies of Georgia.
Keti Kvartskhava published a post on her official Facebook page:
"Many people are misled by propaganda and think the truth is that Europe and America have such a law. This is a lie!
Moreover, the European Court of Justice considered the law of such content to be inappropriate for a democratic system.
This law has nothing to do with transparency, and the only thing it serves is to declare organizations with a different opinion as enemies of Georgia, which is equivalent to registering them as carriers of the interests of a foreign country.
It is a lie that the state does not have information about the sources of funding. The state has this information and can request and receive it at any time.
If this law is adopted, we will show Europe that we are not interested in their opinion and conditions for EU Accession. That's why this law is unacceptable and its adoption is precisely to pursue the interests of a foreign countryTamar," Kvartskhava wrote.
The Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia considered and approved the draft law On Transparency of Foreign Influence in the first reading after a 12-hour-long discussion.
The committee made this decision a few minutes ago, while alternative legislative drafts were rejected.
The amendments provide for the registration of non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities and media as “the organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if a certain amount of their income, over 20 percent, is received from abroad.
