Georgian Parliament Speaker says reports of EU funding protest groups in France, Italy mirror Georgia’s experience

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Wednesday that it was difficult to doubt reports that the European Commission had funded organisations supporting protests in France and Italy, given that similar cases had occurred in Georgia.

Papuashvili was responding to recent Spanish media reports alleging that the European Commission had provided funding to five organisations operating in France and Italy that supported protest rallies, took part in demonstrations, or criticised police actions.

“It is difficult to doubt the accuracy of this information, given that we know for a fact that EU funds in Georgia were used to finance not only radical groups but also a Molotov cocktail campaign and equipment for resisting the police”, the Speaker said in a social media message.