Kobakhidze Says Georgia Ready to Share Its 'Foreign Influence' Laws with Council of Europe
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, February 9, 2026
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Georgia is ready to share its experience in combating foreign influence with the Council of Europe, arguing that the country has developed one of the most effective legal frameworks in this area.
"We are glad that the Council of Europe has such an interest. Georgia actually has one of the best experiences in combating foreign influence," Kobakhidze told journalists. He said the Transparency Law and subsequent legislation were adopted for this purpose and that the government is prepared to present its approach to European institutions. "Of course, we are ready to share our experience in combating foreign influence with the Council of Europe," he added.
Commenting on planned amendments to the Law on Grants and related legislation, Kobakhidze said the changes are intended to close loopholes that, in his view, allowed some organizations to bypass existing rules. According to him, certain NGOs avoided being labeled as representatives of foreign influence by registering directly as foreign entities abroad.
"There were opportunities to circumvent the law," Kobakhidze said. "There were specific NGOs that did not want to be called representatives of the influence of a foreign power and instead registered as foreign powers, for example in Estonia. This is an attempt to bypass the law, and the bill that was initiated must counteract this."
Parliament's European Integration Committee Chair Levan Makhashvili earlier said the Council of Europe had asked Georgia to share its experience in countering foreign interference. According to Makhashvili, Georgian authorities have already compiled their legislation, policy steps, and decisions and submitted them to the Council of Europe for review.
