"Worth nothing", "Fake" — Georgia on Brussels' resolution on EU member status
Georgian authorities responded to the European Parliament resolution
“This resolution is worth nothing”, “the European Parliament has become a victim of fakes”, “MEPs want to open a second front in Georgia” – these and other similar statements were made by the Georgian authorities in response to the resolution of the European Parliament.
A resolution on media freedom violations in Georgia and the safety of journalists was approved by the European Parliament on 9 June. With this document, the European Parliament called on the EU institutions to work on granting Georgia the status of an EU candidate. However, on the condition that the Georgian government will meet all the criteria and listen to the recommendations.
The resolution also called on the European Council to consider imposing personal sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, whom the European Parliament calls an oligarch and informal ruler of Georgia.
The European Parliament resolution was followed by instantaneous, harsh and negative statements by members of the Georgian government.
JAMnews collected statements from members of the ruling Georgian Dream party about the European Parliament’s resolution:
Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party:
“It is extremely disturbing when one of the most important authorities of the modern world, such a high-ranking institution of the European Union, becomes the victim of fakes…
The resolution calls for the release of the enemies of Georgian democracy and media freedom, Saakashvili and Gvaramia. This has nothing to do with European values, and such a resolution, frankly, is worth nothing”
Kobakhidze was the first to react to the resolution. He gave a speech shortly after the publication of the resolution, on June 9, at 15:00, at a special briefing.
Archil Talakvadze, Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament:
“The European Parliament resolution was adopted by some political groups and was not supported by more than 200 MEPs – we also believe that the European Parliament resolution is completely out of touch with reality, devoid of justice, and contains distorted facts.
Georgian society and many people in Europe are well aware that Nika Gvaramia is not the founder of free media, and Mikheil Saakashvili is not a guarantor and symbol of democracy in Georgia.”
Mamuka Mdinaradze, Chairman of the Georgian Dream parliamentary faction:
The vice-speaker of parliament reacted to the resolution the day before its adoption, on 8 June. The resolution was discussed in the European Parliament on that day and it was already known that it would be critical:
“There are people outside of Georgia who are working on a plan to open a second front. The Georgian Dream, on the contrary, is doing everything to prevent this from happening”.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations:
“If there is no evidence that Bidzina Ivanishvili has any political or business connections with the Kremlin, then this will be considered slander, lies and an attack on both Bidzina Ivanishvili himself and the party he founded.”
Dmitry Khundadze, member of the Georgian Parliament, member of the Georgian Dream:
“We have never seen such an unfair Europe during the period of Georgia’s independence. We can’t give up dignity to get status!
If Georgia receives candidate status with the same unfair obligations as the unfair accusations contained in the resolution, then the country should refuse the status in return”.
The draft resolution was discussed in the European Parliament on June 8. “We are disappointed”, “Nika Gvaramia”, “Sanctions”, “Bidzina Ivanishvili”, “July 5”, and “Georgia has retreated” – these words were mainly heard during the discussion. A joint resolution initiated by the five political groups was adopted by the European Parliament on 9 June.
The European Parliament is not a decision-making body on the path to EU membership, but its support is an important political signal.
Now Georgia is waiting for the conclusion of the European Commission, which, according to a JAMnews source, should be made public on June 17.
The European Commission prepares an opinion based on the EU questionnaire. Georgia answered approximately 2,700 questions from the European Commission.
After that, at the summit on June 24-25, the leaders of the EU member states will decide on whether to grant the EU candidate status to Georgia.
