Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has accused Brussels of hypocrisy in response to new European Parliament transparency rules on lobbying by third countries, arguing that Georgia already requires lobbying transparency and that the EU is criticizing others for practices it engages in itself.
Papuashvili said the European Parliament had delayed adopting similar regulations in the past to avoid making the contrast with Georgia’s approach ‘too obvious,’ later attempting to present the new rules as if they differed from the Georgian model.
He rejected suggestions that NGOs or civil society groups were exempt, stating that the transparency requirement applies to anyone engaged in lobbying. As an example, he questioned whether Transparency International is not conducting lobbying activity in Georgia, noting that the organization has given testimonies in Congress and other national parliaments ‘against Georgia,’ and has worked with foreign funding to influence regulations in the country. He also referred to NGOs funded “from Brussels” when pointing to past lobbying efforts related to vetting.
Papuashvili further alleged that NGOs had received funding from Brussels to lobby for the vetting system and claimed they were attempting to impose regulatory changes in Georgia using external financing. He added that Georgia’s law already mandates transparency in lobbying, and insisted the EU should comply with the same standard, calling on Brussels to stop ‘hidden funding’ and follow Georgian legislation governing external influence and lobbying transparency.
