Ruling party MP “convinced” European Parliament resolution won’t “cast a shadow” over Georgia’s progress

Irakli Chikovani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said he was “convinced” the resolution on violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Georgia, adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday, would not “cast a shadow” over the “progress made” by the country.

Chikovani claimed the resolution contained “many factual inaccuracies” that did “not reflect reality”.

We hope that Georgia, along with the other Associated Trio states [Ukraine and Moldova], will become a candidate for European Union membership. [...] There are people who are lobbyists of the [opposition] United National Movement [party] - unfortunately, they are also within the European Union [institutions], and therefore we got what we got [with the resolution]. I am convinced that the resolution will not cast a shadow over the progress that Georgia has made, which is visible to everyone”, Chikovani said. 

The ruling party MP stressed that before the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Georgia had held a “leading position” in terms of fulfilling the Association Agreement - signed with the EU in 2014 - compared to other signatories of the agreement with the Union.

We are well aware of the geostrategic situation that now exists in Europe and the world. We take this into account and we believe that today, all three countries should receive the [EU membership] candidate status. Georgia has implemented reforms aimed at democracy, strengthening human rights and ensuring the rule of law. We have made huge progress. Georgia has achieved very important results”, he concluded.

The European Parliament resolution adopted on Thursday noted the “increasing number of cases of intimidation, violence against and persecution of journalists” in Georgia and called on the country’s authorities to “thoroughly investigate any case of violence and to prosecute those responsible”.

It noted the assault on reporters by right-wing groups in Tbilisi on July 05, 2021, ahead of a planned Tbilisi Pride event, and pointed to a “persistent lack of diligent investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the violence”.

The resolution also urged Georgian authorities to “refrain from interfering in media freedom or pursuing politically motivated judicial cases against media owners or representatives”, and noted the case of Gvaramia, who was sentenced to three years and six months in prison last month for causing financial damage to Rustavi 2 channel through advertising deals between 2015-2019, during his time at the helm of the company.