Ruling party MP slams opposition’s alternative move for EU membership candidacy work
Georgian Dream MP Nikoloz Samkharadze on Monday accused the three opposition parties that had boycotted the ruling party-proposed working group for Georgia’s EU candidacy of having “destructive goals”. Photo: Nikoloz Samkharadze’s Twitter page.
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Nikoloz Samkharadze, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday criticised the move of three Parliamentary opposition parties to boycott a working group initiated by GD for joint work for the country’s European Union membership candidate status and instead launch a separate format last week.
Samkharadze, who chairs the Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, suggested that “the alternative process means that the three parties live in an alternative reality”.
Reminding of the United National Movement, Lelo and the Strategy Agmashenebeli opposition parties that they had received only 1/3rd of the seats in the state legislature, the MP said that the parties “have no public support and no levers to discredit the working process for Georgia’s European integration”.
The decision by the three opposition parties, to offer an alternative working group, is a poor attempt to discredit the process launched by the ruling party to ensure the European Union membership candidate status for Georgia [by the end of this year]. The parties, which refuse to join the ruling party proposed working group, are interested in Georgia’s non-receiving the status”, Samkharadze stated.
In remarks to the comments by the ruling party, the three opposition parties claimed that the “current authorities and the ruling party are only engaged with discrediting the West and have no plans to stand up for Georgia’s EU candidacy”.
Georgia, which was granted EU perspective in June of this year, has a six-month term to meet 12 conditions for EU candidacy in December.
Several MEPs have called on the opposition to work with the ruling party to ensure the fulfilment of the European Commission recommendations.
MEP Viola von Cramon on Friday said she disapproved of the plans of a part of the Georgian opposition to create parallel groups and boycott a working format proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party for the country to fulfil the European Union's 12-point conditions and obtain the membership candidate status in December.
Levan Ioseliani, a member of the Citizens opposition party and Vice Speaker of the Parliament, on Monday said domestic political forces not engaging in the agenda set by the European Union for Georgia for granting the country the membership candidate status would be “counterproductive”.
Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Thursday called on the domestic opposition, non-governmental organisations and experts to get involved in the work process on fulfilling the 12-point conditions established by the European Union for granting Georgia the membership candidate status.
The ruling Georgian Dream party on Friday presented its strategy for fulfilling the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Council for granting the country the European Union membership candidate status later this year.
An alternative working format proposed by three Parliamentary opposition parties for work on Georgia’s European Union membership candidate status “will not benefit” the country’s European prospects, and the opposition should work together with the ruling party for the objective, Nika Simonishvili, the head of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association non-governmental organisation, said on Monday.
Levan Ioseliani, a member of the Citizens opposition party and the Vice Speaker of the Parliament, on Monday said alternative working formats proposed by three Parliamentary opposition parties for work on Georgia’s European Union membership candidate status contradicted a “direct request” of the European partners that domestic stakeholders should be involved together in the working process over the matter.
Gia Volski, a ruling party MP and the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday said the domestic “radical opposition” had “already openly declared” that causing a destabilisation in the country remained its “strategic plan”.
Irakli Garibashvili, the Prime Minister of Georgia, on Friday said he placed “great importance” on “further strengthening” ties and cooperation with the United States and the European Union, pledging to do his “best” to ensure an “even closer partnership” with the US and the bloc.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair on Thursday participated in the panel of the international conference Forum 2000 in Prague.
Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday discussed the implementation of the European Union’s 12-point conditions for the country’s membership candidate status and bilateral parliamentary cooperation in a Tbilisi meeting with members of the EU-Georgia parliamentary association committee.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said he had explained to the members of the EU-Georgia parliamentary association committee that the ruling party had offered “all parliamentary parties” to participate in the process of implementation of the 12-point conditions for obtaining the European Union membership candidate status.