Alternative groups “won’t benefit” Georgia’s EU candidacy, opposition should work with ruling party - GYLA head

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. 

• Ruling party MP slams opposition’s alternative move for EU membership candidacy work

Expressing his discontent towards the decision of the United National Movement, Lelo and the Strategy Agmashenebeli opposition parties last week to boycott the ruling party- proposed working group, Simonishvili stressed that the EU had appealed to all Georgian political players and the civil sector to work together for Georgia’s EU candidacy.

May the opposition parties have a low trust to the authorities that the latter is eager to fulfil the 12-point conditions for the membership candidate status. However, it is an inclusive process and the opposition and the sivic sector should not abandon the government”, Simonishvili said. 

He stated that one of the 12 conditions by the European Commission concerned depolarization of the current political environment in Georgia which was “unlikely to happen without the opposition’s engagement”. 

• MEP disapproves Georgian opposition’s plans to boycott ruling party’s working format for 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.