Stop the presses!
Eurasianet reported October 14 that four German foundations with political party connections had permanently closed in Georgia. That is not accurate: two of the foundations are planning to restart grant-making activities after the Georgian Dream government in Tbilisi approved their applications to resume operations.
The two entities that are staying are the Heinrich Böll and Friedrich Ebert foundations, according to Marcel Röthig, the Ebert foundation’s regional representative in the South Caucasus. Both are legally independent, but their work reflects the values of their affiliated parties: Böll is connected to the Alliance 90/Greens and Ebert to the Social Democratic Party. The two parties are the main players on the left wing of the German political spectrum.
Two other German foundations – the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, associated with the Free Democratic Party – are indeed ceasing operations for now in Georgia.
The Georgian Dream government over the past two years has imposed severe restrictions on the ability of local organizations, especially independent media outlets and watchdog groups, to receive foreign sources of funding.
Georgia and Germany have experienced other bouts of tension in 2026. In May, for example, an announcement that the German city of Saarbrücken intended to suspend its sister-city ties with the Georgian capital Tbilisi sparked a diplomatic spat.
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze accused the “Deep State” in Germany of orchestrating the move. The comment drew an immediate rebuke from the then-German ambassador in Tbilisi, Peter Fischer.
“Georgia has separated itself from Ukraine and Moldova on the common path to the European Union. We want these three states to advance together as quickly as possible, but this is not happening now,” Fischer said in an interview with a local television station.