Following the publication of the Venice Commission’s urgent opinion on the law on transparency of foreign influence, the PACE co-rapporteurs for Georgia, Claude Kern and Edite Estrela, have urged the Georgian authorities to repeal this law.

“Our Georgian counterparts have asked us for authoritative legal arguments with regard to our concerns about the law on transparency of foreign influence. These arguments have now been delivered in the univocal opinion by the Venice Commission that was requested by the President of the Assembly. We therefore urge the ruling majority not to override the Presidential veto and to repeal this law, as recommended by the Venice Commission”, - said the co-rapporteurs.

As outlined in the Venice Commission opinion, Georgia already has a comprehensive legal framework to regulate the funding and transparency of NGOs and the media. In the view of the co-rapporteurs, the authorities could focus on strengthening the existing legal framework, if there is an objective need for it, in close co-operation with the Council of Europe.

”We remain ready to continue our dialogue with the Georgian authorities and society on this subject in the framework of the ongoing monitoring procedure for Georgia”, - the co-rapporteurs concluded.

The Assembly will hold a current affairs debate on recent challenges to democracy in Georgia during its Standing Committee meeting in Vilnius on 24 May.