Unfortunately, with foreign funding we have several multimillionaire NGOs, which directly show that they act not in the interests of Georgia, but in the interests of their financiers. Such a statement made the Speaker of Parliament, while responding to the European Commission’s adoption of the Defence of Democracy package, which involves increasing transparency in politics.

“Let’s recall the facts, for example, it is in the interest of some countries for Georgia to impose sanctions on Russia, it is not in the interest of the Georgian people for Georgia to impose sanctions on Russia. Whose interests are protected by the multimillionaire NGOs? The interests of their financiers, who say so.

It was in the interest of some groups that Georgia was not granted the candidate status, including foreign political groups. It is in the interest of the Georgian people to give Georgia the status of a candidate. Whose interest were the multimillionaire NGOs serving by convincing foreign partners to either postpone the decision regarding the status of the candidate, the representatives of the NGOs devoted direct articles to this, or if they gave us the status, they gave it so that it would be a tool to fight against the government.

It is in the interest of some countries to impose sanctions on Georgian citizens without evidence, it is in the interest of the Georgian people to safeguard the rule of law and not impose sanctions or sanction someone without evidence. On whose side did the multimillionaire NGOs stand? On the side of their funders and talk about impeachment of judges, where there is no evidence.

Of course, patriotism is not a legal dimension, it cannot be demanded legally, and it is their right to pursue the interests of those they want, but it is a moral responsibility. They have made a moral choice that they are lobbyists for the interests of their funders and not for the interests of Georgia.

The only thing we asked for in March, and what the European Union is asking for today in the form of initiating a directive, is that funding should be transparent, the population should know whose interests they are acting on. As for this project, the idea itself, it is an irony of fate. The bill was initiated as a directive of the EU, we will wait until this directive is adopted, and I think we will be asked here to pass a law that complies with this directive. And then we will really laugh ironically when this subject unfolds in the form of a directive and here we are asked to pass this kind of law amid the fact that many foreign actors in March were in a direct disinformation attack on Georgia and managed to convince part of the Georgian public in a lie”, - said Shalva Papuashvili.