United National Movement may join ruling party working format for EU candidacy - opposition MP

The United National Movement party, the largest opposition group in the state legislature, may join the parliamentary format proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party for addressing the 12-point conditions set by the European Commission in June for Georgia to obtain European Union membership candidate status by the end of this year, UNM MP Levan Bezhashvili said on Thursday. 

Speaking to Palitra News, Bezhashvili suggested UNM was “discussing the possibility”, after a delegation of members of the European Parliament, who visited Georgia this week, urged the party to join the process. 

• MEP: all political forces in Georgia must work on EU membership conditions

Bezhashvili cited the six-member delegation as saying the opposition’s engagement in the format “would prevent the ruling party from blocking Georgia’s EU integration process”. 

Responding to the party’s plans, ruling party MP Rati Ionatamishvili said on Friday that Bezhashvili had “made an individual attempt earlier” to join the process before being forced to abandon the attempt by colleagues in the party.

The ruling party-initiated working format is open for everyone to speak out with their views and positions”, Ionatamishvili said.

Ruling party MP Rati Ionatamishvili has encouraged the opposition once again to cooperate for Georgia's EU candidacy. Photo: Parliament of Georgia press office. 

In remarks to Bezhashvili’s comments, Girchi opposition party MP Iago Khvichia said the UNM’s potential decision to join the format would be “adequate”, as the move “would not allow the ruling party to call the opposition ‘destructive’ and shift the blame onto them” if Georgia failed to fulfill the EU membership conditions. 

The ruling party has called on the opposition to cooperate following the June decision of the European Council to grant Georgia European perspective and a six-month term to address several issues to receive membership candidacy status. 

Georgian Dream representatives have said that fulfilling the conditions, which cover moves for depolarising the domestic political environment, “deoligarchisation”, judiciary reforms and other issues, require the opposition's involvement.