Georgian political stakeholders should come together, implement ambitious reforms - US Ambassador

Georgian political stakeholders should come together, implement ambitious reforms - US Ambassador

The US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan on Wednesday once again called on Georgian stakeholders to act together for the country’s European future, in response to the recent resolution of the European Parliament, which had called for joint efforts for the country’s EU membership candidate status. 

“The United States is not part of the European Parliament. I can say that we weren’t involved in drafting this resolution. I can say that we also regret the continuing polarization of the political environment here in Georgia, and we would certainly agree with the call for the political stakeholders here to come together and implement ambitious democratic judicial and anti-corruption reforms. This is work that is underway, and it needs to be done in an inclusive fashion”, she said. 

The ambassador said that “ I think Georgia has a very good track record of submitting draft legislation like this to the Venice Commission and other European expert bodies for their feedback on whether it does indeed meet European Union standards”. 

“At a time when the next very important step on Georgia’s path to its European future is at hand, candidate status, it seems particularly important and worthwhile to submit draft legislation to the Venice Commission to get their assessment of whether the legislation that’s been prepared is compatible and meets European standards”, said the diplomat. 


The document, which was adopted by the Foreigh Relations Committee of the European Parliament on Tuesday, was slammed by the ruling party figures, as it also pointed to  “excessive influence of former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili and “politically motivated cases”.





The US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan on Wednesday once again called on Georgian stakeholders to act together for the country’s European future, in response to the recent resolution of the European Parliament, which had called for joint efforts for the country’s EU membership candidate status. 

“The United States is not part of the European Parliament. I can say that we weren’t involved in drafting this resolution. I can say that we also regret the continuing polarization of the political environment here in Georgia, and we would certainly agree with the call for the political stakeholders here to come together and implement ambitious democratic judicial and anti-corruption reforms. This is work that is underway, and it needs to be done in an inclusive fashion”, she said. 

The ambassador said that “ I think Georgia has a very good track record of submitting draft legislation like this to the Venice Commission and other European expert bodies for their feedback on whether it does indeed meet European Union standards”. 

“At a time when the next very important step on Georgia’s path to its European future is at hand, candidate status, it seems particularly important and worthwhile to submit draft legislation to the Venice Commission to get their assessment of whether the legislation that’s been prepared is compatible and meets European standards”, said the diplomat. 


The document, which was adopted by the Foreigh Relations Committee of the European Parliament on Tuesday, was slammed by the ruling party figures, as it also pointed to  “excessive influence of former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili and “politically motivated cases”.