Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has revealed that the German government allocated a record amount of funding to NGOs in Georgia last year but concealed the details from the Georgian public, the Georgian government, the Bundestag, and even the German public.
“The standards of transparency shown here are shockingly low,” Papuashvili said, noting that some of these NGOs sought to organize a revolution and overthrow the Georgian government.
Papuashvili criticized Germany’s response to parliamentary inquiries, calling it “unheard of and outrageous” that the government would withhold information from its own oversight bodies. He added that the claim that NGOs are under surveillance or persecution is “complete nonsense” and a pretext to hide the real details.
Papuashvili claimed that budget disclosures show that in the 2024 election year, German funds to Georgian NGOs reached unprecedented levels, and these organizations were actively involved in election campaigns, alleged fraud, and attempts to incite unrest, including storming parliament.
He also dismissed Germany’s claim that funding was based on “trust,” arguing that in international aid policy, trust refers to the relationship between the German and Georgian governments—not an excuse to withhold information from parliamentary oversight.
“The German government’s concealment of these details from both the Georgian people and its own MPs highlights the urgent need for transparency laws and exposes one of the clearest examples of dishonest donations,” Papuashvili said.
Recently, it emerged that the German government has confirmed its funding of NGOs in Georgia but has not disclosed the names of the organizations. The German opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has formally requested information regarding the funding and the role of the German Embassy, led by Ambassador Peter Fischer.
