Former ruling party MPs: European Council’s decision on Georgia’s candidate status causes “opposite effect” of depolarisation

Sozar Subari, Mikheil Kavelashvili and Dimitri Khundadze, the three MPs who left the ranks of the ruling Georgian Dream party this week, on Thursday said the decision of the European Council not to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status outright contributed to an “opposite effect” of the objective of depolarisation of its domestic political environment, a qualification included in the body’s requirements to the country.

In their statement, the former party members stressed the concept of depolarisation - outlined by the Council for granting Georgia the membership candidate status later this year - was “abstract” and alleged it was “already clear how many absurd demands” would be associated with the depolarisation process.

If someone seriously cared about depolarisation, they [EU] would not have denied us in granting the membership candidate status. It is a fact that the decision of the European Council does not contribute to depolarisation, but rather to polarisation”, the three politicians noted. 

Of course, all this was easy to guess. It would be naive to think that someone didn't figure that out. Moreover, [...] the main purpose of not granting the candidate status is to incite polarisation”, they claimed in their statement.

The MPs stressed their “desire and goal” was for Georgia to continue its “unhindered progress” towards Europe.

The [correct] answer to insults is not an attack on our Western partners, but our debt to our country and its dignity. When a European behaves in an un-European manner, they themselves damage Europe and its interests. Therefore, responding to injustice means protecting our strategic partner - Europe and the European path of Georgia”, the statement also said.

Subari, Kavelashvili and Khundadze issued their comments after issuing a joint statement earlier this week that said they had decided to set aside party affiliation in a bid to inform the public about behind-the-scenes dealings of the domestic opposition that they claimed were aimed at causing “unrest and war” in the country.

In their initial comments, they alleged there were “great forces” among the opposition that wanted a “revolution” in the country, and claimed the European Council’s decision on conditioning the EU membership candidate status for Georgia on a set of requirements was part of the domestic opposition’s “revolutionary scenario” by creating an “emotional background” in the country.