Parliamentary Speaker expects difficulties before signing the Association Agreement with EU

"We all know and have to remember that we are expected to have difficulties before finally signing the Association Agreement, - Parliamentary Speaker of Georgia David Usupashvili answered a question of the Editor in Chief of the Resonance newspaper Lasha Tugushi at the meeting with the civil society held yesterday.

Tugushi was interested in the future ability of  political processes when the Clergy of the Church is expressing opinion on secular issues and also, the role of the clergymen in political discussions.  Tugushi also asked the Parliamentary Speaker what the Georgian government is going to do if the critical position of the Clergy will be fixed in regard of the countrys Euro integration course instead of the local government code.

"I do not really think this could be a root of a big problem, Mr. Lasha. I think that every citizen of Georgia, no matter being in politics, business, or religious establishments, has a right to express own opinion. But, we are not going to allow anyone who is not fond of the Association Agreement, and we know who they are, to have influence on any topic and any issue, - Usupashvili added.

The question of Lasha Tugushi was manifested by the fact that the Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II criticized the local self-governance reform bill on December 4, saying if it is accomplished, it would certainly provoke the dissolution of Georgia. After this statement, the authors of the document made some corrections and parliament has postponed discussions on the draft code until next week.

The bill for the self-governance system was developed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure and submitted to the Parliament for the consideration. This 71-page bill bids to elect local self-governance bodies, including mayors, for a three-year term instead of four.