Gov’t “interested” in obtaining EU candidacy while opposition “is not” - ruling party head

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday claimed the Government had a “very concrete interest” in receiving the European Union membership candidate status and its accompanying benefits for the country, while alleging the domestic opposition were “afraid” of the country achieving the recognition.

Kobakhidze said a successful work on the status would lead to a “further increase” for GD ratings ahead of next year’s Parliamentary election. 

Putting all other benefits aside, we have a subjective, very biased interest in getting the status, because simply speaking, it will strengthen Georgian Dream a lot, [and] further raise our rating”, he said in press comments. 

The lawmaker claimed the “radical wing” of the domestic opposition and its “affiliated media” were “constantly” alleging that Georgia “does not deserve” the status, and linked the claims to the opposition’s “fears” of the status “mak[ing] the ruling power stronger”. 

The European Council has been scheduled to decide on Georgia’s status in December, following final assessments of the European Commission in October over the country’s implementation of the reform agenda for the candidate status.