Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday announced his support for the reintroduction of the foreign agents bill by the ruling Georgian Dream party, emphasizing its “alignment with transparency and Europeanization efforts”. He claimed the move was in line with European standards of transparency and called for non-governmental organizations and donors to “adhere to these norms as well”.

Kobakhidze stressed the government's commitment to transparency, highlighting that all decisions made by the authorities were “promptly disclosed” to the public. He asserted that Georgia had “already adopted European standards of transparency” and urged NGOs and their donors to follow suit, claiming the "Law on transparency of foreign influence" would assist them significantly.

Transparency, according to Kobakhidze, was crucial for combatting wrongdoing and ensuring accountability, aligning with European values. He argued that opacity signified non-European practices and suggested that refusing to meet minimum transparency standards indicated an intent to conceal information.

The PM expressed confidence that the new law would “effectively safeguard” donors from challenges posed by alleged radicalism and polarization in Georgia. He listed these challenges as including incitement, support for revolutionary movements, electoral vote manipulation, dissemination of war propaganda, promotion of pseudo-liberal ideologies, and actions against Georgia's national and religious identity, as well as attempts to undermine state institutions through disinformation.

Kobakhidze criticized opposing forces that he claimed had sought to prevent Georgia from attaining EU candidate status last year, characterizing their efforts as attempts to distort reality. He warned against such manipulative tactics, emphasizing that “attempting to deceive Georgian society undermines trust and credibility”.

Despite facing widespread protests and a previous withdrawal in March 2023, the ruling party, Georgian Dream, announced its intention on Wednesday to proceed with the enactment of the foreign transparency bill. The bill aims to designate domestic organizations obtaining more than 20 percent of their incomes from abroad as "organizations carrying the interests of a foreign power."

During a briefing, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the executive secretary of the party, accused donors of neglecting responsibility for what the party perceived as "anti-state actions" and the allegedly radical political agendas of non-governmental organizations, which Mdinaradze referred to as "rich NGOs."

The domestic opposition has called for rallies to prevent the adoption of the law.