MP Kadagishvili: Transparency law Georgia was condemned for as “Russian” has come back to Europe like a boomerang

“The role of so-called non-governmental organisations has been reshaped, and they have become a form of soft power used for political ends. That is why their funding was always closed and hidden, and it was hard to tell what activity was being carried out behind a respectable façade. That is why we passed the transparency law,” said MP Irakli Kadagishvili, chair of Parliament’s Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee.

Kadagishvili noted that the transparency of foreign influence has become an urgent agenda item worldwide.

“This shows once again that there is a common aim that is not limited to one country but extends to a large number of countries and has a certain ideological basis. This funding is used precisely to interfere with, escalate, and worsen the situation in one form or another, in one country or another, in one set of circumstances or another. Overall, all of this is directed against national states and their interests. What was called the ‘Russian law’ in Georgia has now come back to hit many European countries like a boomerang. As for the European Union, it will likely have to answer for the true nature of this funding and the true purposes for which it has been employed. We see political forces across Europe demanding not the dissolution of Europe, but a fundamental reform of European political life. This is evident in the crisis unfolding across European states recently, where citizens have taken to the streets,” Kadagishvili said.

Kadagishvili’s remarks follow international media reports revealing that five organisations and trade unions involved in supporting and organising street protests in France and Italy received EU funding.