President, NGOs, opposition slam CoE Secretary General’s remarks on transparency law

President Salome Zourabichvili, opposition parties, and NGOs have voiced strong criticism of Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset after he stated he had received a promise from the ruling Georgian Dream party to amend the controversial “agents law.” Berset claimed a working group would be formed to address the law, but Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze contradicted this, saying only that discussions would occur if “legal flaws” in the legislation were substantiated.

President Zourabichvili dismissed Berset’s remarks as ill-informed, accusing the delegation of misunderstanding Georgia’s political realities. “They do not understand the situation here very well,” she said, adding that the Council of Europe lacks the authority to impose a commission on the Georgian government.

“Who cares whether Russian law is changed or not?” she remarked, emphasizing that the focus should be on democratic principles and human rights rather than superficial amendments.

Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the For Georgia party, suggested that any promises to amend the law were likely made by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the influential founder of Georgian Dream.

Opposition leader Nika Melia criticized Berset’s initiative as out of touch and reiterated the coalition’s demand for new elections. “The protest has a clear demand—new elections,” Melia wrote on Facebook.

Another opposition leader, Nika Gvaramia, denounced negotiations with the government as futile, saying, “There can be no Charles Michel 2.” He characterized the ruling party as illegitimate and unworthy of dialogue.

Nona Kurdovanidze, chairwoman of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), condemned the “agents law” as irredeemable, referencing the Venice Commission’s assessment that the law must be repealed entirely. “No working process will be able to ennoble this law,” Kurdovanidze stated, adding that repealing the law alone would not resolve Georgia’s ongoing political crisis.

Tamta Mikeladze of the Center for Social Justice shared similar concerns, accusing the Council of Europe of failing to adopt a rights-based approach. “No organization has the mandate to ennoble the regime when people are being tortured in the streets,” she argued, stressing that only fundamental changes could pave the way for normalization.