Georgian Parliament Speaker: Time has come for an international standard on foreign interference based on sovereignty and accountability

“Democratic resilience begins with a simple truth: a democracy unable to answer to its own citizens, or act in its own national interest, is already compromised before any threat arrives,” Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili declared in his address at the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament of the Council of Europe in Rome.

As the Parliament Speaker noted, covert foreign funding deserves special attention, as it is often the least visible and most damaging instrument for undermining democracy and sovereignty.

According to Speaker Papuashvili, safeguarding transparency of foreign funding is not a departure from democratic values, but is a means of their defence.

“Hybrid threats, including disinformation, cyber intrusion, covert funding, and foreign interference, rarely act alone. They reinforce one another, targeting the same thing: the integrity of our democratic institutions and decisions. Among these tools, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) is the most widespread and consequential, typically taking the form of coordinated disinformation campaigns timed to strike especially during elections or political unrest.

In Georgia, two years ago, even with the most advanced technical safeguards for elections in place, disinformation and false allegations of election irregularities enhanced polarisation and fueled unrest around the vote. Some groups, funded from abroad, worked to weaken public trust in the fairness and legitimacy of the electoral process itself. This is a clear reminder that resilience in the information space may prove crucial in safeguarding state sovereignty and, thus, democratic practices. Covert foreign funding deserves particular scrutiny, because it is often the least visible and most corrosive means of undermining democracy and sovereignty.

When outside actors fund specific domestic political forces, they harden divisions, turning ordinary political debate into a vehicle for enforcing their preferred line of thinking and deepening political polarisation. A growing number of states, some that once condemned this kind of legislation elsewhere, now confront these risks at home: Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and many others are tightening their own transparency and foreign-funding legislation. This body of legislation has become an important tool for ensuring defensive democracy and strengthening democratic resilience.

Safeguarding transparency of foreign funding is not a departure from democratic values, but, on the contrary, is a means of their defence. The principle is that a government answerable to its people needs visibility over the money and influence moving through its political space,” the Parliament Speaker noted.

He further emphasised that interference is rarely one-sided.

“Many states that decry the erosion of the international order are, at the same time, trying to shape internal affairs of others. National parliaments should not face this challenge in isolation. The Council of Europe’s recent work, from the resolution on foreign interference to ongoing discussions on safeguarding democracy and elections, already provides a foundation.

Foreign interference is dangerous for sovereignty and democracy irrespective of whether it comes from a hostile or non-hostile actor. Foreign interference in itself is a hostile act, because its purpose is the restriction of the people’s freedom and democracy. Therefore, it is hostile whether it comes from enemies or frenemies.

A common international standard is the only way out of this cycle. The time has come to create a standard on transparency and regulation of foreign interference and funding, grounded in sovereignty, accountability, and consent. Only resilient, accountable democracies, aligned on shared rules, can stand firm together against hybrid threats,” Shalva Papuashvili stated.