Justice Minister continues role, optimistic about Georgia’s European future

Justice Minister continues role, optimistic about Georgia’s European future "There is no bright future for Georgia apart from its European path,” said Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani at a special briefing, where she stressed she will keep working in her current position within the Ministry team.

"Me and my ministry never have any drawback to follow the European way with the Government; never. Not from ex-Prime Minister [Bidzina Ivanishvili] or from the current PM. There were no opposite opinions while discussing the issue with acting or already ex-ministers. The political team came to the power in 2012 was and is still now devoted to [pursuing] its European path.” 

She added: "I am lucky to be from 2010 in the team of people who fully shares my values, Western values.” "Since 2012 I have led the Ministry [and] each employee was working for progress. This work finished with the successful completing of the first phase of the EU-Georgia Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. The European Union (EU) assessed this collective success of our Government as "a step closer to Europe”.

Tsulukiani future with the Justice Ministry was immediately unclear following the dismissal of Alasania and resignation of Panjikidze and Petriashvili, as she too was affiliated with the Free Democrats party. She was a member of the Free Democrats before she became Minister of Justice in 2012.

When she became Justice Minister she quit the Free Democrats and said: "I would like to be the Minister of the whole country and not one political party’s." 

However, she also assessed in her statement that the dismissal and resigning of her ministerial colleagues as "very sad” and expressed regret that Georgia’s big international success had been overshadowed by this internal affair.

Tsulukiani underlined the main reason why she put aside her "comfortable” career and private life in France in 2010 was because she wanted to fight for and participate in Georgia’s European choice and future.