Georgian parliament speaker requests Venice Commission expedited opinion on deoligarchisation bill

Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday sent a letter to Claire Bazy Malaurie, the chair of the Venice Commision of the Council of Europe, to request the body’s expedited opinion on the deoligarchisation bill, that is part of the 12- point conditions outlined by the European Union last year for granting Georgia its membership candidate status. 

 

Along with the importance of the bill for the country’s obtaining the status by the end of this year, Papuashvili also cited a “tight schedule” of the spring session of the legislative body, which will end in June, for requesting the recommendations in an expedited manner. 

 

The Georgian official noted the parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee on Thursday discussed the amended bill based on the recommendations of the Commission. 

 

The ruling Georgian Dream party, which proposed the bill, also claimed it had used European Commission assessments over the similar Ukrainian law while drafting the legal document. 

 

The United National Movement opposition party has presented its own version of the bill.