Georgian Parliament official: public must know how EU funds are spent

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, on Friday said that people needed to know how the funds received from the European Union were spent.

In his remarks, Gorduladze noted that for wealthy non-governmental organisations, it was not a problem to be registered on some website if it's foreign, but when it came to a Georgian website, they had an issue.

“We learned about the funding from a website within the European Union framework, where information about the amounts received by non-governmental organizations is available. In reality, we do not know how this money was spent. NGOs that are wealthy organizations highlight their disregard for our country and its laws”, Gorduladze said.

“It’s not a problem for them to be registered on some foreign website, but when it comes to a Georgian website, they have an issue. That is precisely why we say about these people that the concept of homeland means nothing to them”, he noted.

He also addressed that transparency was important, not only for international partners and the European Union, but equally for the country and the people, so they know how the funds coming from the EU were being spent.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing that individuals and NGOs funded by the European Union are running hate campaigns in our country”, the Parliament official said.