Georgia, Tbilisi, Dec. 8 / Trend N.Kirtzkhalia /
The Georgian parliament adopted amendments to the Broadcasting Act this week, which bans registered offshore companies from owning a license to broadcast in the country.
The original version of the bill was prepared by the ruling party and allowed registered offshore companies to own up to certain percent-shares in such enterprises. However, the proponents of the bill were forced to remove the clause in an effort to ensure transparency.
Parliamentary Legal Committee Chairman Pavle Kublashvili said "it is necessary to make a few more steps in terms of financial transparency".
"We hope that we can agree on the wording before the second hearing of the bill and eventually be able to promote the financial transparency of media," he said.
The bill was adopted during a first hearing.
Provisions on financial transparency, the Legal Committee's commitments to publish information about media ownership and TV financial auditing on the Georgian Regulatory Communications Commission website, and new rules for determining the status of Adjaran television will all be reflected in the bill during the second hearing, Kublashvili said.
Parliamentary minority leader Georgy Targamadze said amendments are "satisfactory".