The Vice Prime Minister / Minister of Culture vowed support for the bill on the Transparency of Foreign Influence, asserting its alignment with European Union standards and necessity for national security.

Tea Tsulukiani rebuffed claims that the bill echoed the Russian law as branded by the opposition, citing the adoption of similar legislation by the EU.

“No one, including the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, can say that this law is Russian, since the European Union itself launched adoption of this law last year.

We, the public, have the right to formally know about those Georgian non-governmental organisations that serve the anti-Georgian cause and refuse to be transparent”, - said the Minister.

She further noted that the bill, applying solely to NGOs receiving over 20% of their funding from foreign sources, aimed to enhance transparency without impeding their operations.

Comments of Tea Tsulukiani followed after the Georgian Dream decided to resubmit the bill on the Transparency of Foreign Influence to the Parliament. The bill provides for a single requirement that organizations receiving foreign funding publish their annual financial reports.