The Parliament of Georgia passed
The Economic Liberty Act (ELA) in December 2011. Unlike the initial draft, the final act (a constitutional amendment) contained a reservation which states that a separate
Organic Law should define those cases in which the government will still be able to increase taxes without calling a
referendum. The Economic Liberty Act is the Organic Law of Georgia and is based on the 4th and 5th parts of Article 94 of the
Constitution of Georgia (Constitutional Law of Georgia No 4033 of July 1, 2011). The act restricted the government from making changes to major economic policy without a
popular referendum. It capped the government expenditures at 30% of the GDP, the
debt to GDP ratio at 60%, and the
budget deficit at 3% of the GDP. Some of these rules were known as the
Maastricht criteria, enshrined in the
EU Stability and Growth Pact and facilitating the smooth transition to the
Eurozone. ==References==