The requirements of the Law on Grants will not apply to grants issued by the Georgian Red Cross Society. Also, grants issued by financial and credit institutions will not require an agreement with the Government of Georgia.

The relevant clarifying amendments are being implemented in the draft amendments to the Law on Grants, which the Parliament will consider and vote on today in the second and third readings. The draft law was revised in this direction during its consideration in the Legal Issues Committee.

The Law on Grants names several organizations that are not obliged to apply to the Government of Georgia for approval to issue a grant. These are: - the European Union Research and Innovation Program - Horizon Europe, the European Union Program - Erasmus+, the German Academic Exchange Service - DAAD, and the Georgia-EU Program "Creative Europe". The Law on Grants does not apply to grants issued by them, which are issued for general education, higher education and scientific work.

Committee Chairman Archil Gorduladze presented a revised draft law, according to which the Georgian Red Cross Society and financial and credit institutions will be added to the above list.

“We propose to clarify once again what was already implied, that the requirements of the Law on Grants do not apply to the organization provided for by the Law on the Georgian Red Cross Society and to grants issued by this organization. There is a specific entity based in Georgia, which is a member of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Organization. For greater clarity, it should be directly noted that the Law on Grants does not apply to them.

At the same time, we would like to clarify that the requirements of the Law on Grants will not apply to grants issued by a financial and credit institution.

This refers, for example, to a grant issued by the World Bank, which, as a rule, is always a grant accompanying a loan agreement, and here the risks of violating sovereignty are minimal. Such grants are already agreed with the government in accordance with a different procedure, and grants are not issued in the political part,” Gorduladze said at the session of the Legal Issues Committee.

The Parliament will consider the planned amendments to the Law “On Grants” in an expedited manner. According to the draft law, funds issued by diplomatic missions, consular institutions and representatives of international organizations accredited in Georgia that are used or may be used for activities that stem from the political or public interests, approaches or relations of the government of a foreign country or a foreign political party are no longer considered grants.