Parliament Speaker claims European Commission's enlargement report “clear proof” Gov’t taking “important steps” on integration path

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday claimed the European Commission's enlargement report for the European Union was a “clear proof” that the Government was taking “important steps” on the European Union integration path “despite constant obstruction on the part of the domestic opposition and non-governmental sector”.

In his comments, the Parliament Speaker  said the “general assessment” showed that Georgia was “progressing” on the EU accession path.

We positively assess the report of the European Commission. According to the European Commission, during the past year, out of 35 chapters, Georgia made good progress on 12 chapters, and some progress in 13 chapters. This is very clear proof that despite the elections, Georgia had limited time for parliamentary activities and despite the constant obstruction of the opposition and the NGO sector, Georgia was taking important steps on the path to EU integration”, the Speaker said.

“It should be emphasised that according to the European Commission, there is a setback in case of only one of the 35 chapters in the report, which concerns justice and fundamental rights. The European Commission names the following issues as the main reasons for such an assessment: abolition of gender quotas [for the Parliament], adoption of the transparency law, adoption of the law on family values ​​and protection of minors, and failure to hold LGBT pride [event]”, he continued.

He further added that the assessment in the justice and fundamental rights chapter was “equal” to the assessment of Ukraine and Moldova, while in the report’s group of “fundamental issues” Georgia was “ahead of both Moldova and Ukraine”.

In addition to the fundamental issues, Georgia is ahead of Ukraine and Moldova in the overall assessment of the internal market and competitiveness groups, which is the main essence of the European Union as an organisation”, he said.

“It is around these issues that the European Union was created at the time, and that is why the European Union is attractive to many. Taking into account the overall assessment, Georgia is still solidly ahead of Moldova, while it is behind Ukraine only in three groups - foreign relations, green agenda and resources”, Papuashvili continued.

He further claimed there was an “attempt to politicise the process” on the part of “some representatives” of the EU, and further pointed out that “everyone should understand that such a short-sighted approach turns European integration from a tool of cooperation into a political tool, which damages the European integration process itself and the reputation of the European Union”.

The Speaker further added that the “very fact that the European Commission worked on the enlargement document, assessed Georgia's progress and given the Government  recommendations shows that the terms like ‘suspension of European integration’, used recently, was more of a political statement than an institutional situation”.

He stressed that as the EU continued to evaluate Georgia, the Government also continued to work on the matters provided for in the Association Agreement with the bloc, and further vowed that this process would "not stop”.