GD Parliament Further Amends Law on Grants

The Georgian Dream is making further changes to the Law on Grants to exempt certain foreign educational grants from needing prior government approval, while also expanding the requirement for official consent to include “technical assistance” and “knowledge-sharing.”

The amendments, fast-tracked in first reading today, June 10, in the Georgian Dream’s one-party legislature, follow earlier changes that introduced the requirement for donors to seek approval from authorities before distributing grants. The new grant laws, alongside Georgia’s two foreign agents laws and recent amendments to the Law on Broadcasting, are seen as key instruments in Georgian Dream’s growing legislative crackdown on civil society and media organizations.

According to the proposed amendments, “a grant shall also be deemed to include […] technical assistance provided to the grant recipient in the form of technology, specialized knowledge, skills, expertise sharing and/or other forms of support.”

The proposed changes will, on the other hand, exempt certain European educational grants from the need of prior approval from the government, including the grants issued under the EU’s research and innovation program Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Creative Europe program implemented between Georgia and the EU.

Tornike Cheishvili, GD’s first deputy chair of the Legal Issues Committee, said the move is intended to improve the efficiency and flexibility of the approval process.

“In practice, certain issues have emerged that require further clarification,” he said. “Several programs have been identified whose grants pose minimal risk to state sovereignty and security […] current regulations already allow for such exceptions in fields like education and science.”

Also Read:

• 31/05/2025 – Georgian Dream’s FARA Takes Effect 
• 17/04/2025 – International Reactions to GD-Approved Law Requiring Executive Approval for Foreign Grants
• 16/04/2025 – GD Rubber Stamps Legislation Forcing Donors to Seek Its Approval for Grant Awards
• 15/04/2025 – Transparency International: Grant Law Amendments a Threat to Civil Society

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