Alternative groups “won’t benefit” Georgia’s EU candidacy, opposition should work with ruling party - GYLA head
Nika Simonishvili, the head of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association non-governmental organisation, on Monday called on the opposition to join the ruling Georgian Dream party-proposed working group for Georgia’s EU candidacy. Photo: GYLA.
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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.
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”.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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”.
Plans of the “radical opposition” to form a technocratic Government in Georgia have failed, with the group now trying to “discredit” the state legislature through the formation of a parallel working format for work on Georgia’s EU candidacy, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuahsvili said at a briefing on Tuesday.
Two opposition MPs in the Georgian Parliament, Vakhtang Megrelishvili and Levan Ioseliani, on Tuesday condemned the move by three opposition parties and several MPs to boycott a working group recently proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party and instead create a parallel format last week to work on Georgia’s European Union membership candidate status.
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.