MEP appeal: “Does Georgia deserve EU membership?”
MEP Anna Fotyga’s inquiry about Georgia‘s EU membership
MEP from Poland Anna Fotyga turned to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell with questions about Georgia‘s EU membership, the ill-treatment of Mikheil Saakashvili, who is serving a prison term, and possible sanctions against the oligarch and leader of the ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili.
According to Anna Fotyga, she supports Georgia’s application for EU membership, but believes that this process should proceed in accordance with merit.
“In principle, the accession process is merit-based. In this regard, I’m concerned with the treatment of the 3rd president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, which deeply contradicts European standards and values”.
According to the MEP, she is concerned about the policy of revenge on Mikheil Saakashvili.
“ I join the numerous calls to treat president Saakashvili fairly and with dignity and to refrain from degrading treatment and political revenge. Numerous independent institutions, doctors and diplomats raised serious concerns about court proceedings and his mistreatment in jail, instigated by Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch with ties to Russia and informal control over the Georgian government”.
According to her, such an attitude towards the third president of Georgia is encouraged by the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili:
“Additionally, those informal links result in ambiguous position of the Georgian Dream government on Russia’s aggression on Ukraine”.
Anna Foyga also cites the deoligarchization of Moldova as an example and asks Borrell about the positive effect of imposing sanctions against Ivanishvili.
The MP asks two questions:
- Is the policy of political revenge and mistreatment of the 3rd president of Georgia in line with the European values and commitments required in the accession process?
- Does the VP/HR agree that deoligarchization of Moldova has contributed positively to political reforms in this country and its EU future and share the common opinion that imposing personal sanctions on Georgia’s notorious oligarch with links to Russia would bring similar positive effect?” reads the letter.
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The letter of Anna Fotyga was commented on by the deputy of the parliamentary majority Beka Davituliani. According to him, anyone who says that the Georgian government, Georgian Dream or Bidzina Ivanishvili are pro-Russian is “living in a dream world”.
According to him, the issue of imposing sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili was repeatedly raised by foreign politicians, but this did not happen and will not happen this time either.
“As for the legal assessment of the conditions of detention of Mikheil Saakashvili, the relevant structures will give such an assessment. Saakashvili also filed a lawsuit with the Strasbourg court, and we will see what conclusion they will draw there. As for the political assessment, my position is clear and simple, Mikheil Saakashvili showed entire Georgia what inhuman treatment is. No one treats him inhumanely, and I cannot agree with Fotyga”, the deputy said.
According to Davituliani, the party founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili has written in the constitution that NATO and the EU are Georgia’s foreign policy goals, and therefore the government and the ruling party are moving west.
