Parliament Speaker: We aim to ensure Georgian politics are only funded with people’s consent

“Our task and our goal is to ensure that no money is spent on Georgian politics without the consent of the Georgian people,” declared Georgia’s Parliament Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili, speaking on the Imedi TV.

“Following the statement we heard from EU Commissioner Marta Kos, in which she spoke openly of seeking ways to circumvent Georgian legislation and the will of the Georgian people to channel funds to organisations in her employ, we have now heard a second admission, this time from Laura Thornton, who stated plainly that yes, these black schemes do exist. We have already witnessed them in operation: bogus organisations registered in Estonia, and so forth. It appears that certain shadow financing arrangements are firmly in place. This is, in fact, quite plain to see, which is precisely why we heard a statement today from the EU Ambassador as well. They are worried that all these loopholes are being closed.

We have clearly stated that our goal is to ensure no funds are spent on Georgian politics without the consent of the Georgian people. As it happens, four British politicians said exactly the same thing today, though naturally they were not speaking about Georgia, but about themselves. With us, of course, it works the other way round: other people’s money tends to be spent rather differently,” Papuashvili remarked.

For context, the British Government announced today that it is tightening legislation against foreign funding in politics. Several British politicians, including the Minister for Democracy and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, emphasized the importance of strengthening these measures.