The Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili condemned the secretive spending of money by some European and American funds in Georgia, stating that such practices contradict democratic principles. He emphasized the importance of transparency, advocating for society’s right to know how foreign funding is utilized within the country.

“To begin with, it goes against democratic values to secretly spend money in another country. Regrettably, some European and American funds engage in this practice,” he stated.

Papuashvili criticized the hidden nature of foreign funding, pointing out instances where it supported political parties or radical groups without public disclosure.

“Some European and American funds have been using underground measures, such as financing radical groups and parties while operating in Georgia”, he remarked, adding that “the legislature must make these methods transparent to the Georgian people.”

“Despite concerns and criticism, these funds have failed to disclose how they spend money in the country even after having one year to do so. Hence, the Georgian people have the right to regulate the issue through legislation and obtain information regarding the spending of these funds.” Papuashvili continued.

Papuashvili stated that some organizations, including Factcheck, sponsored lies on social media while claiming to verify falsehoods.

“One of the non-governmental organizations, Factcheck, which allegedly receives millions of foreign funding to verify lies, is itself sponsoring lies on social media. Such activities have reached an alarming level,” he declared.

Papuashvili called for the transparency of foreign organizations funding groups involved in politics in Georgia, asserting that their financing should meet the same standards of transparency as Georgian public agencies.

“There cannot be a lower standard for foreign funding than there is for Georgian budgetary organizations and the Georgian budget. We demand that foreign funding be raised to the same level as the transparency of public institutions”, he added.