Opposition “trying to discredit Parliament” after plans for technocratic Gov’t “failed” - Parliament Speaker
The Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the ruling party-proposed working group for Georgia’s EU candidacy had already addressed several recommendations of the bloc. Photo: Shalva Papuashvili’s Twitter page.
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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.
Accusing the three opposition parties, the United National Movement, Lelo and the Strategy Agmashenebeli, of “playing a dangerous, anti-constitutional game against the Parliament elected by the Georgian people”, Papuashvili suggested that the opposition's decision to form a separate working group “contradicted” the first recommendation of the European Commission over depolarisation of a domestic political environment.
Speaking about the results within the ruling Georgian Dream party-proposed working group, which was launched three weeks ago, Papuashvili suggested that the portion of the EU recommendations related to the Parliament's supervisory functions, judiciary reforms, justice issues and others have been addressed with the involvement of four parliamentary opposition parties and the civic sector.
17 meetings of committees and working groups have already been held, with preliminary results on some of the conditions. The Georgian Dream, Girchi, European Socialists, Citizens and the For Georgia, five of eight parliamentary groups, are involved in the process which aims to ensure Georgia’s European Union membership candidate status”, Papuashvili said.
The Parliament Speaker has held several meetings with civic sector representatives to meet the EU conditions over candidacy. Photo: Parliament of Georgia press office.
Returning to the three opposition parties’ “destructive plans”, Papuashvili said that the European Parliament delegation, on visit to Georgia last week, encouraged the opposition to join the working process along with the ruling party and other players.
However, they [the opposition] have refused to do so and instead announced street rallies starting September 1,” said the Parliament Speaker.
He welcomed the “negative assessments” being made by several MEPs and the civic sector representatives over the opposition’s move to form a separate working group, “harming Georgia’s European prospects”.
Georgia has several months to address the 12 conditions of the European Commission to receive the European Union membership candidate status reportedly next year.
Georgia’s foreign partners have called on the country’s political elite to “get united for common goals”.
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.
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.
The fact that “serious work” on the implementation of the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union to Georgia for membership is underway and both the ruling party and the opposition have presented their plans has “given us great hope”, David McAllister, the Head of a European Parliament delegation said in a joint press conference with Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili in Tbilisi on Wednesday.
The Parliamentary working group created to review judicial reforms for fulfilling conditions outlined by the European Union for granting Georgia the membership candidate status will hold its first meeting on Monday, the Parliament’s press office said.
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 ruling Georgian Dream and four parliamentary opposition groups involved in the GD-proposed working format for gaining the European Union membership candidate status for the country held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss issues of the judiciary system in the country.
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.
The “singular goal” of the “radical part” of the Georgian opposition is to overthrow the Government and spark unrest, with the group having “no interest” in Georgia’s European intentions, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Friday while attending a local holiday in the mountainous Svaneti region, in the country’s north-west.
The United National Movement opposition party is a paralysed political structure but may have chances to recover if its founder, the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, quits politics, Girchi opposition party MP Iago Khvichia said on Wednesday in comments on reports of Saakashvili planning to retire from political life.