Parliament Speaker: European Parliament resolution against Georgian transparency bill “last pinch against Georgian people” by outgoing MEPs
The resolution called on the Georgian Government to withdraw the legislative piece and has sparked public protests in the country. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday against the Georgian bill on transparency of foreign influence was “the last pinch by outgoing MEPs against the Georgian people”.
The resolution called on the Georgian Government to withdraw the legislative piece and has sparked public protests in the country.
In his response, Papuashvili said the resolution was a “political document” with “no executive function and force”.
A year ago there was a resolution and exactly the same entry regarding Bidzina Ivanishvili [the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party and former PM]. Unfortunately, these are the people who [also] singled out [Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of] Abkhazia as a separate state in the draft resolution. What kind of sanctions are we talking about, when they are so superficial towards our country?”, Papuashvili said.
“The decision on opening European Union accession talks [with Georgia], on imposing sanctions is taken by the European Council. This is a campaign launched by several MEPs, which they have been conducting against the Georgian people for a long time”, he alleged.
The lawmaker also said he hoped EU citizens would “make a better decision and hand over the mandate to the right people” in the upcoming elections scheduled for June.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said “Abkhazia is Georgia and no one needs to be reminded of that”, in reference to the Russian-occupied region of the country, after a draft resolution of the European Parliament against the Georgian bill on transparency of foreign influence mentioned the region as a separate state.
Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday urged the political leaders of Georgia to withdraw the draft law on transparency of foreign influence and said it was “clear” that this bill was “incompatible” with the EU norms and values.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said the Georgian Government was “not going to pay the price with the lives of Georgian citizens” in confronting Russia with sanctions amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said he expected the Lithuanian Embassy to the country to make a response over a statement of Petras Auštrevičius, the Lithuanian politician and member of the European Parliament, who on Tuesday called for sanctioning Georgian law enforcement officials.