The Georgian government will create its own fund to provide subsidies to local NGOs and media, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced.
According to him, the fund will be financed from the state budget. Organizations that have registered with the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the Law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” will be able to apply for grants.
“Many non-governmental organizations were threatened by some foreign donors with the cessation of their funding if they registered… Against this background and in general, based on the interests of the country, we decided to create a grant program for Georgian non-governmental organizations, which will be fully funded from the state budget of Georgia using Georgian taxpayers’ money. The institutional and financial foundations necessary for the smooth functioning of the grant fund will be prepared in the next two months, and the first grant projects will start to be funded in January 2025.” – said Kobakhidze.
The joint complaint by the president, the opposition, NGOs and the media against the foreign agents law is currently before the Constitutional Court. The plaintiffs are asking for the law to be suspended. The court has not yet made a decision.
About 500 organizations have submitted applications for inclusion in the register of organizations promoting the interests of foreign powers. As the Georgia News portal writes, these are mainly small NGOs that do not have the possibility to pay fines or hire lawyers.
Some NGOs and media outlets said they would not register, despite threats of fines.
