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 condemned a part of the domestic opposition for their recent announcement on initiating a separate bill for Georgia’s European Union candidacy. Photo: Parliament of Georgia press office
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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.
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.
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.
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.
The European Union will invite the next UK Prime Minister, as well as nine countries hoping to join the bloc, including Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and six western Balkan states, plus non-candidates Armenia and Azerbaijan to a summit on new pan-European security body scheduled on October 6 in Prague, a British daily newspaper The Guardian reported on Saturday.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the Georgian Government had not deviated from the path that “involves joining the European family”.
Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the Parliamentary majority was “ready to cooperate” with the opposition in the lawmaking body on work for implementing the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union for granting the country the 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”.