Opposition MP: any politician opposing Georgia’s EU candidacy is “enemy” to country

Aleko Elisashvili, an MP for the Citizens opposition party, on Wednesday said “any” domestic politician who opposed Georgia receiving the European Union membership candidate status was an “enemy” of the country.

Elisashvili said his own goal was to ensure the country received the status later this year. 

“It is not [the ruling] Georgian Dream [party] and Bidzina Ivanishvili [the founder of GD and former PM] who receive the status, but ordinary citizens”, the opposition politician noted.

Elisashvili’s comments come after Khatuna Samnidze, an opposition MP and the Chair of the Republican Party, last week said “specific representatives” of the opposition were “hindering” the process of Georgia receiving the status.

Samnidze noted the unspecified opposition groups had “intensified” their alleged efforts against Georgia’s EU candidacy “in recent days”, which she said was “confirmed” by international partners.