The Georgian Parliament has adopted amendments to its controversial law on grants that create more leeway for foreign governments and organisations to distribute funds. The ruling Georgian Dream party has introduced several rounds of restrictions on grants, including a dramatic expansion of what is considered a grant, as well as the requirement for prior government approval before grants are issued.
Under the new amendments, adopted on Wednesday, funds disbursed by foreign governments, organisations, and others that will be ‘used or may be used for activities arising from the political or public interests, approaches, or relations of a foreign government or a foreign political party’ will not be considered grants. As a result, they will not require prior approval.
The new version of the law also includes exemptions for the Georgian Red Cross and foreign financial institutions.
MP Archil Gorduladze said that both the original law and the changed version would allow for embassies or diplomatic missions to receive money from their own states to ‘carry out [their] objectives [...] such as hiring staff or promoting [their] country’.
Gorduladze added that ‘if an embassy provides funds to any natural or legal person, aimed at shaping policy in Georgia and influencing the public, this will be considered a grant and will require agreement with the government’.
Separately, Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili said on Wednesday that the government had reviewed 165 grant applications over the past year and approved the issuance of grants in 95% of cases.
‘Not a single project that was not [directed] against Georgia’s national interests was rejected’, Botchorishvili told parliament.
Nonetheless, there have been reports that planned grants were cancelled after the adoption of the first round of restrictions on foreign grants in April 2025.
In general, the series of legislative actions against the provision of foreign funds have been widely criticised and seen as a government attempt to crack down on civil society and media that is dependent on funding from abroad.
OC Media
