Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Sunday responded to the latest ranking of the Eastern Partnership Index, which placed Georgia third in EaP, following Moldova and Ukraine, by saying it was “a sabotage” orchestrated by “certain non-governmental organisations”.
The ranking, evaluating the countries based on democracy, good governance and rule of law, as well as political governance with the European Union and sustainable development, placed Moldova in first place, with Ukraine following in second and Georgia in third with a score of 0.63.
According to all authoritative [and] politically unbiased studies, Georgia has an impressive superiority everywhere [among Eastern Partnership countries]”, Sarjveladze stressed.
He accused local NGOs of “intentionally distorting” the situation to provide “a more favourable platform for opposition political parties”.
The latest ranking has become a subject of political evaluations for the past week, with members of the ruling party alleging that the domestic third sector “has been hindering the European integration process” and stressing the Eastern Partnership Index was also “a result of the anti-state campaign” against Georgia, staged by certain NGOs.