Ruling party MP - part of opposition refusing involvement in work for Georgia’s EU candidacy “anomalous”

Ruling Georgian Dream party MP Mikheil Sarjveladze on Tuesday called the refusal of a part of the domestic opposition to participate in the GD-proposed working groups for achieving the European Union membership candidate status for the country “anomalous”.

Sarjveladze was responding to the recent announcement of four Parliamentary groups and five independent MPs that they would present a “bill for Georgia’s EU candidacy” this month that would act as a separate legislative initiative from the Government’s work for the goal.

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The MP said the opposition representatives who created the parallel working group in July could have presented their critical comments and offered their initiatives as part of a joint working process, “which would benefit state interests”. 

We have offered the opposition to work together, including with the involvement of civil society. However, the opposition has announced a completely incomprehensible boycott to the process that is of top importance for the country’s future”, said Sarjveladze. 

In further comments, the MP said Georgian Dream authorities “have already responded to the majority of conditions” set by the EU for Georgia’s candidate status. 

In their statement, released early on Monday, the opposition groups and MPs said their bill, drafted “through the cooperation with the civil sector”, would ensure the fulfilment of the EU conditions while adding the current authorities were “unwilling to take steps for Georgia’s EU integration”. 

The parties refused to participate in the ruling party-proposed working groups, set up in July with the task to meet the European Union conditions after the European Council granted Georgia the European perspective and several months to meet the conditions for the candidate status.