Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party and Tbilisi mayor, on Wednesday criticized the Venice Commission's recent opinion on the controversial foreign influence bill, describing it as politically biased and factually distorted.

Speaking at a Tbilisi government meeting, Kaladze expressed disappointment, noting that the Georgian population had anticipated a “reasoned, professional analysis” with specific arguments from the Commission. Instead, he claimed, they received politically charged messages from particular groups.

"Yesterday, the conclusion of the Venice Commission was published. It confirms only one thing: there are no legal or other arguments against the transparency law. Unfortunately, instead of providing legal reasoning, the Venice Commission presented us with a politically biased assessment that distorted the facts and suggested that the law should be recalled. They did not consider it necessary to provide a legal justification or a substantive argument. The Commission recommended that Georgia should not demand transparency from civil organizations and media, labeling this as an undemocratic action. This is simply incredible. The population of Georgia expected reasoned, professional arguments from the Venice Commission, but instead, we got political messages from specific groups. The published conclusion is saturated only with political messages and lacks any legal discussion, content, or explanation as to why transparency is considered bad," said Kaladze.

Additionally, Kaladze responded to information from Politico regarding U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson's plan to introduce a bill in Congress. This bill, if passed, would initiate negotiations for a "strong preferential trade regime" with Georgia, contingent upon meeting important political criteria.

Kaladze reassured the Georgian public that the nation's interests would remain unchanged. "I want to assure our population once again that Georgia's interests will not be compromised," Kaladze stated.

The Venice Commission expressed concerns that the Foreign Influence Transparency bill was passed with its final reading by the parliament without adequate opportunity for open discussion and meaningful consultation. The Commission noted that the process did not align with European democratic legislative standards.