TBILISI, September 9. /TASS/. More than 450 non-governmental organizations have been listed in the register under the law On Transparency of Foreign Influence, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said at a briefing.
"More than 450 non-governmental organizations have applied to the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, that is, a significant part of organizations working with foreign funding," Kobakhidze noted.
The prime minister also stressed that "the registration process of non-governmental organizations took place amidst active pressure and blackmail." According to him, "organizations formed independent from government are threatened and blackmailed by both non-governmental organizations and individual foreign donor agencies."
Kobakhidze also announced the decision "to establish a grant program for Georgian non-governmental organizations, which will be fully funded from the Georgian state budget with the money of Georgian taxpayers." As the head of the Georgian government emphasized, the institutional and financial basis for the fund will be prepared in the next two months, and the first grant projects will be funded from January 1, 2025.
The Georgian legislature passed a bill On Transparency of Foreign Influence, also known as the foreign agent bill, in the third reading on May 14. It had drawn a wave of harsh statements from the European Union and the United States. President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the law on May 18, but parliament overrode her veto on May 28. Non-governmental organizations warned that they would not register if the law was passed because they object to the idea of labeling themselves as organizations advocating interests of a foreign force.
The law applies to non-government organizations and mass media outlets that receive more than of 20% of funding from abroad. They will be obliged to submit their tax returns to the justice ministry in January each year. Otherwise, they will be fined 25,000 lari (over $9,100). If the income declaration is not filed after the fine is levied, they will have to pay 20,000 lari (over $7,300) for each day of the delay. Registration of organizations began on August 1, the deadline for voluntary submission of applications to the Ministry of Justice of Georgia expired on September 3. After that the agency began monitoring organizations that avoid registration. At this stage, organizations covered by the document are ordered to register and publish a financial declaration for 2023.