EU Delegation, US Embassy discuss implementation of EU conditions with parliamentary opposition
The meetings involved the leaders of the opposition parties Citizens, Lelo and the United National Movement. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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Representatives of the European Union Delegation to Georgia and the United States Embassy on Wednesday met with members of the Georgian Parliamentary opposition to discuss the implementation of the conditions outlined by the European Union for granting the country membership candidate status, the Georgian Parliament said.
The meetings involved the leaders of the opposition parties Citizens, Lelo and the United National Movement.
We talked about how the 12-point recommendations were being fulfilled in order to receive the long-awaited EU membership candidate status. I told the guests what was being done in the Parliament [in this regard], how intensively the working groups worked, and to what extent the opposition was involved in the matter. The issue of judicial reform was in a special focus”, Citizens opposition party MP Aleko Elisashvili said.
Davit Usupashvili, the Chairman of the Lelo party, said the representatives of the EU Delegation to Georgia and the US Embassy expressed their readiness for providing help in the country receiving the membership candidate status.
Anri Okhanashvili, the Head of Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the Georgian Dream ruling party, and Julien Crampes, the Acting Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia, on Tuesday discussed activities of the parliamentary working groups created to review judicial reforms for fulfilling the 12-point conditions, and the progress in the implementation process.
Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday cautioned against “underestimating” the European perspective granted to the country by the European Union, and stressed doing so would mean underestimating “the choice of the Georgian people towards Europe”.
The activities of the parliamentary working groups, created to review the judicial reforms for fulfilling the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union for granting Georgia the membership candidate status, and the progress in the implementation process were discussed on Tuesday by Anri Okhanashvili, the Head of Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the Georgian Dream ruling party and Julien Crampes, the Acting Head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia.
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 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.
The European Union published its annual Association Implementation Report on Georgia on Friday. The report has reviewed Georgia’s implementation of reforms under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement over the past year.
Julien Crampes, the Acting Head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia, on Thursday called for inclusiveness and involvement of opposition parties and civil society in the Parliamentary work on the 12-point conditions outlined by the EU for granting the country the membership candidate status.
Anri Okhanashvili, the chair of the Georgian parliament's legal affairs committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the domestic “radical opposition” groups “must explain to the public” and Georgia’s partners “why they have sabotaged” the implementation of the European Union’s conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status.