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    2026-09-21 | 16:37

    This all looks like a clumsy attempt to circumvent the law; it would be a disaster and a scandal if the Council of Europe’s local office were to become embroiled in this – Shalva Papuashvili

    This all looks like a clumsy attempt to circumvent the law; it would be a disaster and a scandal if the Council of Europe’s local office were to become embroiled in this – Shalva Papuashvili

    According to the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, the meeting organized in Bakhmaro by Armaz Akhvlediani—head of the "School of Political Studies"—may involve an attempt to circumvent Georgian legislation.

    Papuashvili noted that, according to the Government Administration, no one had requested their approval regarding a grant, whereas the Council of Europe’s media office stated that the funding in question was not a grant.

    "Then what was it?" Papuashvili asked.

    He explained that the initial version of the law on grants required government approval for all foreign-funded expenditures, but the final version included an exception for direct expenses.

    Papuashvili suggested that this exception might have been utilized to fund the Bakhmaro meeting.

    "I suspect we may be dealing with an attempt to circumvent Georgian legislation here. It could be a mechanism to bypass sanctions," he stated. According to the Speaker of Parliament, it must be determined whether a scheme was employed whereby the local office of the Council of Europe directly covered expenses—such as those for hotels, buses, catering, experts, and speakers—that were originally intended to be funded through a grant.

    Papuashvili stated that if this fact is confirmed, it could amount to an attempt to circumvent the law.

    "Unfortunately, we have lost trust in donors after they misled us regarding the transparency law in 2023. They misled us for a year, and that is precisely why we adopted the law," Papuashvili said.

    He added that current legislation stipulates that a service contract which is, in essence, a grant, is subject to the corresponding legal regime.

    "This all looks like a clumsy attempt to circumvent the law. It would be a disaster and a scandal if the local office of the Council of Europe were to become embroiled in this," Papuashvili stated.

    He further noted that examining the issue falls within the mandate of the State Audit Office, and depending on the findings, a review of the legislation might become necessary. "I cannot say anything with certainty; that is precisely why the Audit Office exists—to investigate all of this. Let us see what results this investigation yields," stated the Speaker of Parliament.

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