The representative of the European Union in Georgia issued a statement, saying that, considering the risks pointed out by the Venice Commission, Georgia should not accept the bill on deoligarization in this way.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Pavel Gerchinsky also reacted to the bill. According to him, the EU recommendation does not determine what should be the right or wrong approach to the issue of deoligarchization. Therefore, if the Venice Commission considered that the existing bill does not meet the necessary criteria, then the European Commission has a similar position, Gerchinsky says.
Declaration of the EU Delegation
“The European Union supports the conclusion of the Venice Commission: given all the identified risks, it is better for Georgia not to adopt a bill on deoligarchization. The European Union stands ready to support the Georgian authorities in finding a better way through a systematic approach. Together we can move forward more actively.”
Statement by EU Ambassador to Georgia Pavel Gerchinsky
“According to the Venice Commission, this bill should not be adopted because there are serious risks. We, as the European Commission, support all the recommendations of the Venice Commission. It is she who sets the standards when it comes to this kind of legislation. Therefore, we call for a systematic approach instead of adopting a special law. Deoligarchization is one of the 12 recommendations. This is recommendation number five. We say that this is a very important condition, and we expect the Georgian government to move forward on the issue of deoligarchization.
We never say what the correct approach is. We say exactly what should be done, not how it should be done. It was the decision of the Georgians to introduce the bill. We now know that, according to the Venice Commission, this is the wrong approach. The Venice Commission proposes a systematic approach, and we believe that it is correct, as it covers many aspects. It means reforming the judiciary, it means more efforts to fight corruption, it means more transparency and accountability.”
The Parliament of Georgia adopted the bill on deoligarchization in the second reading. On voting, the bill was supported by 82 deputies, while two spoke against it.
The bill on deoligarchization, prepared by the ruling Georgian Dream party, “cannot be seen as a democratic or effective response to oligarchization.” This is the conclusion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which studied the bill and urged the Georgian authorities not to accept it. And this is the final conclusion of the commission.
The commission says that instead of this law the government should carry out “systemic reforms”, including creating an effective competition policy, strengthening the fight against top-level corruption, making public procurement transparent, strengthening media pluralism, and also making property information more transparent. media, etc.
The Georgian government claims that it has taken into account all the recommendations of the commission and is implementing almost all of the recommendations to obtain the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
