Ruling party head: opposition “doing everything” to prevent country from receiving EU candidate status

Anri Okhanashvili, the chair of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the ruling team would continue to “actively work” on the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union for granting the country the membership candidate status, and stressed that “the involvement of all political parties and stakeholders will be ensured in this process”.

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.

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. 

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said a part of the domestic opposition was “sabotaging” the process of Georgia fulfilling the 12-point conditions established by the European Union for granting it the membership candidate status.

Ruling Georgian Dream party MP Rati Ionatamishvili on Tuesday said it was “important” that the process of implementing the action plan for the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union for granting Georgia the membership candidate status continued “proactively”.

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said there were domestic political groups that did not want the country to receive the European Union membership candidate status as the result would “automatically imply that the Government has done a good job”.

The progress in the implementation of the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union for granting Georgia the membership candidate status was discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and diplomatic representatives of EU member states in Tbilisi.

Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee will create five working groups today to address the conditions outlined by the European Union for granting the country membership candidate status, with the issues of deoligarchisation, judicial reform, electoral code and creation of an anti-corruption agency, a special investigative service and a personal data protection service in particular focus, the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) said.

Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Tuesday said the aim of the opposition United National Movement, Lelo and Strategy Aghmashenebeli parties was to “cast a shadow” over the process of the implementation of the European Union conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status.

The working group proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament and tasked with revising domestic electoral laws in line with the European Commission conditions for the country’s EU membership candidacy held its first meeting on Thursday.

Givi Mikanadze, an MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said it was “difficult to talk about" national consensus when leaders of the domestic "radical opposition" were announcing rallies and "trying to radicalise the political environment" in the country.

Elections are the only way to change the Government and any attempts to overthrow it will be “doomed to fail”, Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party and Tbilisi Mayor, said on Monday in response to comments by opposition leader Nika Melia on an “urgent need for changes in the state leadership”. 

The “radical part” of the domestic opposition is “acting against” the Georgian Government’s plans to receive the European Union membership candidate status next year by drafting bills as part of parallel working groups that “demonstrate their anti-Western goals”, ruling Georgian Dream party MP Rati Ionatamishvili said on Monday.

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the talk of snap Parliamentary elections in the country - as demanded by a part of the domestic opposition - was “absurd”.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said the “radicalisation” of a part of the domestic opposition in Georgia, not political polarisation, was the “main problem” in the country.

Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said a part of the domestic opposition was “vitally interested” in the country not receiving the European Union membership candidate status.

Archil Talakvadze, the vice speaker of the Georgian parliament, on Thursday said if the “radical” part of the domestic opposition wished to participate in the process of implementing the European Union conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status, the government was “ready to cooperate”.