At a plenary session, Parliament reviewed and approved the amendments to the Law on Grants in the first reading under an accelerated procedure, with 83 votes in favour.

As stated by the First Deputy Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Tornike Cheishvili, the draft law exempts grants issued within the framework of the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe, the EU’s Erasmus+ programme, the German Academic Exchange Service, and the Creative Europe programme between Georgia and the European Union from the requirement of obtaining government approval.

According to T. Cheishvili, the amendments also clarify the definition of a grant. In particular, the proposed changes include technical and expert assistance, knowledge-sharing, and other similar contributions under the legal definition of a grant. Furthermore, technical clarifications are made regarding the fields in which grant funds may be used, specifically relating to humanitarian affairs, defence, and security. The list of entities eligible to issue grants is also specified.

As T. Cheishvili explained, under the amendments adopted in April to the Law on Grants, a mechanism was introduced requiring government or authorised official approval for foreign grants, thereby establishing stronger legal safeguards to protect state sovereignty. However, following the entry into force of these changes, practical challenges emerged that require further clarification to ensure more flexible and effective administration of the process.

“In particular, several programmes have been identified in which the grants issued pose minimal risk to state sovereignty and security, and therefore may not need to fall under the legal requirement for prior approval—especially as existing legislation already provides for certain exemptions, including in the field of education and science”, – T. Cheishvili stated.