Parliament Committee supports amended deoligarchisation bill to meet EU candidacy conditions
According to other changes, individuals recognised as oligarchs will no longer be prohibited from making donations from their funds to support political parties and holding gatherings or demonstrations with political demands, the Committee Chair said. Photo via Parliament of Georgia
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The Legal Affairs Committee in the Georgian Parliament on Wednesday supported the amended version of the deoligarchisation bill - proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party as part of the work to meet the conditions outlined by the European Union last year for granting its membership candidate status to the country - with the majority of votes.
The Venice Commission recommended that the process of recognising an individual as an oligarch should not be politicised [...] therefore instead of the Government the Anti-Corruption Bureau will have the authority to launch the procedure [of recognising individual as an oligarch], consequently, the procedure will be fully depoliticised”, Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Committee said.
According to other changes, individuals recognised as oligarchs will no longer be prohibited from making donations from their funds to support political parties and holding gatherings or demonstrations with political demands, the Committee Chair said, adding that the Bureau's decision to recognise individuals as oligarchs would be subject to court control.
The bill will be again sent to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe for consideration before its submission to the plenary session of the legislative body, Okhanashvili noted.
The Legal Affairs Committee in the Georgian Parliament will on Wednesday discuss the amended version of the deoligarchisation bill, proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party as part of the work to meet the conditions outlined by the European Union last year for granting its membership candidate status to the country.
The Georgian parliament on Thursday approved the bill on deoligarchisation, a part of the conditions for obtaining the European Union membership candidate status, in its first reading.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the feedback received from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe on the domestic bill on deoligarchisation, a part of the conditions for obtaining the European Union membership candidate status, would be taken into account.
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.
Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Tuesday said the legislative body would withdraw the bill on deoligarchisation, a part of conditions for the country to obtain the European Union membership candidate status, if the European Commission considered it “unnecessary” for the country.
The Georgian parliament on Tuesday passed the deoligarchisation bill, with 81 votes against two, in its second reading, proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party as part of the work to meet the conditions outlined by the European Union last year for granting its membership candidate status to the country.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the ruling team would take into account requests of European partners and not approve the domestic bill on deoligarchisation - designed to address one of the conditions for Georgia to be granted the EU membership candidate status - until December.