Georgia's United National Movement party, the largest opposition group in the state legislature, may join the parliamentary format proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party for addressing the 12-point conditions set by the European Commission in June for Georgia to obtain European Union membership candidate status by the end of this year.

Last week UNM MP Levan Bezhashvili said suggested UNM was "discussing the possibility", after a delegation of members of the European Parliament, who visited Georgia, urged the party to join the process. 

Bezhashvili cited the six-member delegation as saying the opposition’s engagement in the format “would prevent the ruling party from blocking Georgia’s EU integration process”. 

In remarks to Bezhashvili’s comments, Girchi opposition party MP Iago Khvichia said the UNM’s potential decision to join the format would be “adequate”, as the move “would not allow the ruling party to call the opposition ‘destructive’ and shift the blame onto them” if Georgia failed to fulfill the EU membership conditions. 

The ruling party has called on the opposition to cooperate following the June decision of the European Council to grant Georgia European perspective and a six-month term to address several issues to receive membership candidacy status. 

Georgian Dream representatives have said that fulfilling the conditions, which cover moves for depolarising the domestic political environment, “deoligarchisation”, judiciary reforms and other issues, require the opposition's involvement. 

Source - vesnikkavkaza.net

26 July 2022 / 11:07