Georgian Parliament Speaker says ready to forgive Brussels for false criticism over “FARA law”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said the Georgian Government was ready to forgive Brussels for the “false criticism” regarding the so-called “FARA law” and to move past the grievance.

In an interview with Imedi TV, Papuashvili noted that the United Kingdom’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which contained the same provisions as Georgia’s law, has recently come into force.

“We are ready to forgive Brussels for the false criticism regarding the FARA law and to put aside this grievance”, the Speaker said.

“This is how the world works when it is divided into Jupiters and cows. Today in Britain, the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme has come into force, which says the same thing that we have here”, he continued.

Papuashvili further highlighted that if Georgia were to fund a media outlet or NGO in the UK to work on election-related issues, it would have to register in the British foreign influence register, while Britain funding the same activities in Georgia would not be required to register.

“If Georgia finances exactly the same in Britain, we must register. But if Britain finances the same in Georgia, the requirement for registration is seen as a great insult to Britain. What is happening here? Do we have some defects compared to the British? What did Britain find lacking in us, Georgians? This is ordinary hypocrisy, based on the philosophy of the big and the small”, the Speaker concluded.