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• Transparency of Foreign Influence bill officially withdrawn

  The People’s Power-tabled Transparency of Foreign Influence bill has been officially withdrawn. Thirty-five MPs voted against passing the bill with the second reading, while one lawmaker voted in favor. A total of 112 MPs underwent registration.

  The parliamentary majority on Thursday decided to withdraw the Transparency of Foreign Influence bill following the consultations between the ruling Georgian Dream political council and the People’s Power parliamentary faction.

  Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili explained that the initiators of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) also withdrew the bill.

• MEETING OF SHALVA PAPUASHVILI WITH THE EU AMBASSADOR AND THE AMBASSADORS OF THE EU MEMBER STATES

  The Speaker, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili held a meeting with the EU Ambassador and the Ambassadors of the EU Member States for deliberation on the Draft on Transparency of Foreign Influence, and the Act on Registration of Foreign Agents.

  As the Speaker noted, at the meeting the concerns have been discussed that are expressed concerning the hereof Drafts.

  “We have already discussed it and I understand that the concerns may exist, especially since these discussions are themselves stigmatized. The fact is that we have initiated an exact copy of the American Act and even the Law was titled not American but Russian. The discussion is becoming absurd and we understand that some forces try to stigmatize the discussion. Despite the immense wave of stigmatization, we have held long conversations about the importance of transparency, similar to our yesterday’s meeting with NGOs; we have achieved an understanding that transparency concerning the actors engaged in the formation and adoption of the political decisions is a request of our citizens and the Parliament is assigned to ensure the realization of this request. We discussed these needs, declaring that we intend to submit these Drafts to Venice Commission for its opinions; meanwhile, we have time plenty to hold other discussions”, - the Speaker stated and hoped that the civil society will actively cooperate with the Parliament instead of imposing stigmas and taboos, to eliminate the legal gaps related to insufficient transparency.

  “I do hope that the civil society, instead of imposing taboo on the discussion concerning transparency, will demonstrate that they feel confident and powerful in this issue and that they are right and like they speak behind the closed doors, they consider that transparency is important and the degree of transparency we have today is not sufficient, and I hope they will get actively engaged in these issues and cooperate with the Parliament to ensure transparency and eliminate the gap in our system. All actors participating in the formation of the political decisions, state institutions, parties and public officials are transparent in their finances and the only actor – the non-governmental sector – is opaque in this regard, more precisely, such organizations manifest various types of transparency and this gap shall be eliminated”, - he added.

  Administration of the Parliament

   

• SHALVA PAPUASHVILI INTRODUCED THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO IPU

  “Last year, Kigali, Rwanda hosted the IPU on October 11-16; the Georgian Parliamentary Delegation attending the event was represented in the full composition of the Majority and Opposition MPs”, - the Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili stated at the plenary session when introducing the Annual Report of the Parliamentary Delegation to IPU.

  As Speaker Papuashvili noted, the Assembly was attended by up to 125 countries and about 600 MPs. The attendees deliberated on the threats posed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and the non-recognition policy.

  “The Assembly was attended by up to 125 countries and about 600 MPs, including 40 Speakers. We had an opportunity to meet with the Parliamentary Delegations of 19 countries from 4 continents; we as well held meetings with 14 Speakers, including the Parliamentary Delegations from Korea, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Australia, Rwanda, Malawi, Fiji, Seychelles, Tanzania, Guyana, Serbia, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, Chile, India, Jordan, and Great Britan. We also held a meeting with the Parliamentary Delegation of Ukraine headed by the Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. At the meetings, we deliberated on the threats to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, as well as the non-recognition policy. It’s crucial to take advantage of the attendance at such assemblies to establish direct contacts with our colleagues, with which we may not share close geographical communication”, - the Speaker stated.

  As he noted, the agenda of the Assembly also included the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The attendees adopted the Resolution condemning the illegal invasion of Russia into Ukraine.

• MEETING OF SHALVA PAPUASHVILI WITH THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE OF SPAIN

  The Speaker, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili held a meeting with the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate of the Kingdom of Spain; at the meeting, the Georgia-Spain close cooperation has been positively estimated.

  The Speaker expressed his gratitude to Spain for supporting the territorial integrity and European aspirations of Georgia.

  “We highly appreciate the assistance and support of Spain in terms of the facilitation of our territorial integrity and the non-recognition policy. The support of Spain is expressed not only in words but in deeds by participating in the EU Monitoring Mission”, - Speaker Papuashvili noted and dwelt on the progress of Georgia in compliance with the EU recommendations hoping that the Parliament will have fulfilled all the recommendations within the spring session.

  According to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Antonio Gutiérrez Limones, the Spanish Delegation is composed of members of various political groups, though all of them strongly support the EU candidacy for Georgia.

  “When Spain assigns the EU presidency in the second half of 2023, it will serve as an additional trigger for granting the EU candidacy to Georgia, which is the will of the President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Spain as well. We recognize Georgia as a part of Europe”, - he stated.

• The annual meeting of heads of diplomatic missions of Georgia abroad "Conference of Ambassadors 2022" continues in a working format

  Ilia Darchiashvili: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make a special contribution to the achievement of the common goal, which is called a better future of Georgia."
  The annual meeting of heads of Georgian diplomatic missions abroad "Conference of Ambassadors 2022" continues in a working format. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Ministers met the Georgian ambassadors abroad.
  Along with the foreign policy achievements of the current year, the participants of the ambassadorial meeting also discussed the action plans for the next year. The conversation touched upon the challenges facing Georgian diplomacy and such topical issues of Georgia's foreign policy as: achieving the territorial integrity of Georgia through peaceful means; European and Euro-Atlantic integration; The role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the economic development of Georgia; cultural diplomacy; relations with diaspora; cooperation with international organizations; bilateral and multilateral diplomatic relations; Administrative, organizational and consular issues.
  "The main priority of our government is to protect the national interests of the country. Georgia's interests are first of all - this is the main issue of our agenda, around which we are all working together", said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili during his speech at the "Ambassadors' Conference 2022".
  At the conference, special attention was paid to the importance of European and Euro-Atlantic integration and Georgia's achievements in this process. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs noted, joining the European Union is the cornerstone of Georgia's foreign policy. According to him, Georgia's application for EU membership is based on Georgia’s successful path in this direction, namely: ambitious reforms carried out by the government in a number of areas, tangible results achieved in the implementation of the Association Agreement, visa-free regime with the European Union and other achievements.
  The participants of the conference discussed the steps taken in 2022 towards joining NATO. Both the practical and political significance of the approval of a set of “tailored support” measures  for Georgia. Discussions at the conference also focused on the issue relating to the peaceful restoration of territorial integrity and de-occupation. Special note was taken of the importance of consolidating international efforts in the process of strengthening the peace and reconciliation policy for the restoration of territorial integrity.
  Speaking about the security challenges and the importance of establishing long-term peace in the region, the conference participants also discussed the Peaceful Neighborhood Initiative launched by the Prime Minister, the purpose of which, along with the development of a dialogue between the two neighboring countries, is to strengthen and outline the role of Georgia.
  The annual meeting of heads of diplomatic missions of Georgia abroad - "Ambassadors' Conference 2022" - is held from 26 to 28 December.