EU welcomes Georgian parliament’s move to request Venice Commission opinion for deoligarchisation bill
The European Union representation in Georgia on Monday said it was “important to consult international standard setters and implement their recommendations”. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Tweet 
Share
The European Union representation in Georgia on Monday welcomed the decision of the ruling Georgian Dream party to send the domestic deoligarchisation bill to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe for recommendations before its final approval.
Proposed by the ruling party as part of work for fulfilling conditions for obtaining the EU membership candidate status, the bill has already been adopted with its first and second readings, with only the final reading ahead.
Praising the decision as a “positive step”, the EU mission said it was “important to consult international standard setters and implement their recommendations”.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the Georgian Dream party in the parliament, on Monday said it was “no problem” to request the feedback for the bill, adding the ruling team had been waiting to find out the Commission’s response to a similar Ukrainian law, which had been used for drafting the Georgian version, before making a decision on forwarding it to the body.
Remark on “de-oligarchisation” draft law
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) November 28, 2022
We welcome the announcement that @Geoparliament will take the positive step of sending the “de-oligarchisation” draft law to @VeniceComm for opinion. Important to consult international standard setters & implement their recommendations. pic.twitter.com/QkO8cgi283
He reiterated the authors of the domestic bill had used the Ukrainian legislation to draft the document, and recent “incorrect” reports over an alleged recall of the bill from the Commission by Ukraine had sparked controversies.
The Venice Commission is scheduled to provide its recommendations for Ukraine next year”, Mdinaradze said, adding the Georgian government had considered the advice of EU representatives and the country’s allies to request the recommendations and “thus, we postpone to approve the bill until the feedback is available”.
In their comments on the bill, a section of opposition has said it “must include” Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling party and former prime minister, as a “shadow ruler” of the country, while authors of the bill have pointed to criteria for defining oligarchs as outlined in the document and said mentioning specific names in the bill would be “very undemocratic”.
While in Georgia earlier this month, Oliver Varhelyi, the EU commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, said that legal amendments requested by the bloc “do not apply to specific individuals” and advised the Georgian authorities to request the Venice Commission recommendations over the bill.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the executive secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the ruling team had decided to forward the domestic bill on deoligarchisation for comments to the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.
Anri Okhanashvili, the chair of the Georgian parliament's legal affairs committee, on Thursday said the ruling team was holding consultations with European bodies to make sure there were “no ambiguities” around the domestic deoligarchisation bill.
The European Union representation in Georgia on Monday called on the country’s parliament to request recommendations from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and consider its feedback over the domestic deoligarchisation bill being considered for approval.
Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said the deoligarchisation bill proposed by the ruling party as part of work for fulfilling conditions for obtaining the European Union membership candidate status was “free from political interests” as it was based on Ukrainian legislation.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the ruling team had taken into account the recommendations of Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, and the EU ambassador to Georgia, on forwarding the domestic bill on deoligarchisation for comments to the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.
Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi and the secretary general of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the Georgian government would “do everything” to ensure implementation of European Union conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status.
Anri Okhanashvili, the chair of the Georgian parliament's legal affairs committee, on Tuesday said the Georgian parliament expected an assessment from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission on the deoligarchisation bill that “is consistent with the principles of the rule of law and the European legal framework”.