TBILISI, October 4 – Four German political foundations have suspended their work in Georgia. The move comes after a deterioration in relations between Tbilisi and Berlin over new rules requiring government approval for foreign-funded grants.
The foundations are the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, affiliated with Germany’s Christian Democratic Union; the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, linked to the Free Democratic Party; the Heinrich Böll Foundation, affiliated with the Greens; and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, linked to the Social Democratic Party.
German Ambassador Barbara Voss said on October 2 that all four had been forced to temporarily suspend their activities because of decisions by the Georgian government. She said the development would also affect relations between Georgia and the European Union (EU).
Voss took up the post in August, replacing Peter Fischer, who left Georgia at the end of June after completing his term. Relations between Tbilisi and Berlin had deteriorated sharply during Fischer’s tenure, as Georgian Dream officials repeatedly accused him of interfering in domestic politics and supporting opposition groups, allegations rejected by the German side.
At least two of the organizations now closing shop, the Adenauer and Naumann foundations, have formally announced that they are closing their offices in Tbilisi.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation said its board decided on September 30 to end operations in Georgia and close its Tbilisi office. It said new grant legislation had made continued work impossible and that an application to continue funding projects and cooperating with Georgian partners had been rejected on July 28.
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation similarly said the closure of its Tbilisi office was a direct result of the political and legal framework established by the Georgian government, which it said prevented the foundation from carrying out its core mission.
While Voss and the German foundations placed blame squarely at the foot of the Georgian Dream government, officials in Tbilisi argued that it was the foundations’ refusal to give up their political interference that caused them to close down operations.
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said the Adenauer Foundation had been offered the possibility of continuing academic and educational projects if it removed projects of a political nature. He argued that foreign political parties and their affiliated foundations had no political mission to carry out in Georgia.
Archil Gorduladze, chairman of parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, said the foundations were not prohibited from operating. Under the amended grants law, he said, organizations seeking to issue grants must apply to the Georgian government, which can approve projects it considers compatible with the public interest and national sovereignty.
He also criticized Ambassador Voss over her remarks, accusing her of using a threatening tone and calling on diplomats to stay within what he described as the limits of the Vienna Convention.
Meanwhile, several opposition figures aligned with Berlin on the matter, with European Georgia chairman Gigi Tsereteli saying the departure of the Adenauer Foundation would further damage Georgia’s relations with Germany and reflected wider problems with the country’s democratic and Western integration course. Giorgi Sharashidze of the Gakharia party also called the development regrettable and linked it to recent Georgian legislation affecting foreign-funded organizations.
The Naumann Foundation said it had operated in Georgia since 2002 and would continue supporting Georgians working for what it described as a free and democratic future.
