Developers Count the Cost of Regulatory Relaxation

EU Delegation: EU Has Allocated Over €2 Billion in Grants to Georgia i...

According to the EU Delegation’s statement on social media, every euro invested was aimed at improving the daily lives of Georgian citizens, from modernizing roads, hospitals, and schools to strengthening local communities, entrepreneurs, and young innovators.“For more than 30 years, the EU has been helping Georgian citizens to seize new economic and social opportunities through programmes such as TRACECA, EU4Business, ENPARD, and EU4Youth,” the statement reads.

Revenue Service: KAYSERI and the owner of the cargo that entered Kulev...

The response follows a Reuters report claiming that on October 6, the tanker KAYSERI delivered 105,340 metric tons of Siberian Light oil grade from the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk to the Kulevi Oil Terminal.“All companies within the vessel’s ownership and management chain, as well as its insurance and classification society, fully comply with applicable international norms and regulations and are not subject to international sanctions.Accordingly, in order to conduct subsequent customs control procedures, the cargo was discharged into a temporary customs storage warehouse.The vessel operates on international routes, including ports in Asia and the Middle East, and its activities are fully consistent with international maritime practice and trade regulations.The Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia once again confirms that entry of vessels into all Georgian ports is strictly controlled in full compliance with international law and national legislation.Georgian ports are not used—by any party, including third countries—to evade international sanctions.The Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance and the Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia jointly and continuously monitor and verify vessels and shipowners in relation to international sanctions.If a vessel or its owner is found on a sanctions list, it is denied entry to Georgian ports and is not permitted to undergo customs procedures,” the Maritime Transport Agency stated.The Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance also issued a separate statement confirming that the ship, its owner, and the companies sending and receiving the cargo have passed sanctions screening.“On October 2, the Panamanian-flagged tanker KAYSERI entered the port of Kulevi from a Russian Federation port, carrying up to 10,000 tons of crude oil intended for import customs procedures. The cargo was shipped by a Russian company, whose name is not disclosed due to tax secrecy regulations.The inspection confirmed that neither the vessel nor its owner, nor the companies sending or receiving the cargo, are subject to international sanctions. Following the inspection, the cargo was unloaded into a temporary storage customs warehouse for further customs control procedures.The Revenue Service and the Maritime Transport Agency continuously monitor ships and shipowners for compliance with international sanctions. Any vessel or owner listed under sanctions is denied entry to Georgian ports and barred from undergoing customs procedures.We declare with full responsibility that the information disseminated serves to mislead the public,” the Revenue Service stated.

Georgian MFA expresses concern over Elina Valtonen's visit, issues pro...

In its note verbale to the OSCE Secretariat, the Foreign Ministry states that, beyond the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) program, Minister Elina Valtonen joined a street protest organised by a small group of anti-government activists who had been freely, though illegally, blocking the main avenue of Tbilisi on October 14. Public statements made by Minister Valtonen, which do not reflect the reality, constitute a deliberate attempt to mislead the international community regarding the situation in Georgia.“The Embassy of Georgia to the Republic of Austria, Permanent Representation of Georgia to the OSCE and other International Organisations in Vienna presents its compliments to the OSCE Secretariat and Missions/Delegations of the Participating States to the OSCE and has the honour to express concerns of the Government of Georgia regarding the visit of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland, H.E. Elina Valtonen, to Georgia in her capacity as the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO).Beyond the CiO program, which included the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, H.E. Maka Botchorishvili, a visit to the occupation line, and a meeting with a few representatives of civil society, Minister Elina Valtonen joined a street protest organized by a small group of anti-government activists who had been freely, though illegally, blocking the main avenue of Tbilisi on October 14. Public statements made by Minister Valtonen, which do not reflect the reality, constitute a deliberate attempt to mislead the international community regarding the situation in Georgia.These actions contradict the spirit of cooperation under the OSCE and could be considered a clear abuse of the CiO mandate, undermining credibility and the expected neutrality.They are incompatible with universally recognised principles of international law, including respect for sovereignty and non-intervention in internal affairs, as reflected in the Helsinki Final Act, UN Resolution AJRES/20/2131, Rules and Procedure of the OSCE, and the spirit of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” reads the note verbale of Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.On October 14 and 15, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Elina Valtonen, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, visited Georgia. On October 14, after meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Georgian Dream government, Maka Bochorishvili, she joined the ongoing protest in front of the parliament, which has been taking place since November 28 of last year.On October 14, she met with representatives of civil society in Tbilisi, and on October 15, she was at the occupation line.On October 15, Kobakhidze’s press service issued a statement that due to the presence of the Finnish Foreign Minister on Rustaveli Avenue, the Prime Minister of the Georgian Dream government canceled the planned meeting with him.According to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the Finnish Foreign Minister himself canceled the meeting with Irakli Kobakhidze and informed the host country about it on Tuesday, October 14th night.In a telephone comment to Helsingin Sanomat, Elina Valtonen explained that her “meeting with Prime Minister Kobakhidze was canceled not at the initiative of Georgia, but at the initiative of Finland, due to a change in the schedule, and the Georgians were informed about it the night before.”Today, October 16th, it became known that the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs fined the Finnish Foreign Minister 5,000 GEL for his presence at the October 14th rally - he is accused of “artificially blocking the road”.

Venice Commission publishes Opinion over Law on registration of foreig...

According to the statement, at the request of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, at its latest plenary session, adopted its Opinion on the Law of Georgia on registration of foreign agents (GEOFARA), the amendments to the Law on grants and other Laws relating to “foreign influence”.The statement reads that the Venice Commission has analysed these legislative acts through a systemic approach, in order to take into account the combined effect of simultaneously applicable laws on the same entities and individuals. In that context, the Commission recalled its earlier recommendation that where existing provisions of domestic legislation have proved to be insufficient to achieve a legitimate aim, the authorities should seek to amend and improve them, rather than adopting new laws.The Commission observed that the lack of clarity and precision of GEOFARA undermines the principle of legal certainty. The obligations imposed by the law contain open-ended formulations and are disproportionate. According to the Commission, the Anti-Corruption Bureau in charge of enforcement of the law is entrusted with excessively wide discretion, and it lacks sufficient guarantees of independence. Regarding criminal liability foreseen by the law, the broadly framed provisions describing the offence permit loose interpretation and lack the requisite justification, while criminal sanctions fail to meet the standard of proportionality.As regards the amendments to the Law on grants, the Commission observed that they introduced a general requirement of prior governmental approval for foreign grants, which lacked a demonstrated justification in terms of necessity and proportionality. The Commission noted, in particular, that the amendments provided no clear and objective criteria for refusal of grant applications and they lacked adequate safeguards.The Commission noted with concern that instead of considering less intrusive alternatives, the amendments to the Law on broadcasting introduced a blanket ban on foreign funding for broadcasters without distinguishing between funding that genuinely threatens democratic integrity and funding that supports legitimate journalistic and civic activities, which fails the standards of necessity and proportionality.In the Commission’s view, this new legislative framework risks undermining the rule of law, civic space, and democratic freedoms. The Commission therefore recommended repealing these legislative acts and improving the already existing framework instead. It further called for future law-making in this field to follow a systemic and inclusive approach, ensuring its legitimacy and broad acceptability.The Venice Commission reconfirmed that it remains open to dialogue with the authorities to address these shortcomings.

Kobakhidze Cancels Meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister

According to the Georgian government, the cancellation was due to Valtonen’s participation in an unauthorized rally and her allegedly false statements.Elina Valtonen attended an ongoing protest in front of the Parliament on October 14. Commenting on the demonstration, she wrote on X:"Peaceful protestors have gathered in front of the Parliament Building in Tbilisi, Georgia, to voice their concern over the repressive direction of their country. They have every right to democracy, to freedom of expression and basic human rights. We are here to support them."