It’s for the 1st time EU official document calls for sanctions on Ivanishvili – TI Georgia head

Eka Gigauri, the head of Transparency International Georgia, on Thursday said “it is for the first time” the [European Union] official document had called for sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili [the founder of the Georgian Dream ruling party and a former prime minister] and pointed to his “personal responsibility for delayed reforms” and the country’s “democratic setback”. 

Responding to the recent resolution by the European Parliament, which on Wednesday called for sanctions on Ivanishvili and pushed the release of currently imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili on medical grounds, Gigauri claimed in her social media post the developments would make an influence on [billionaire] Ivanishvili’s business activities. 

She stressed the current Georgian authorities would try to “protect” Ivanishvili, including “at the cost of damaging the interests of Georgia and its people”. 

“They [the government] are expected to also reject the country’s European integration process for this. What are we doing at this time, the 80 percent of us who support Georgia’s EU integration? Today we are frustrated and think nothing makes sense? In fact, everything makes sense! We need to unite and focus around a single goal! No one from outside will help us if we do not take action! We should want Europe so that they want to accept us! Let’s think about it!”, Gigauri said. 

The document approved with the support of 430 MEPs, with 52 voting against and 126 abstaining, has underlined the need to eliminate the “excessive influence of vested interests in economic, political and public life” as one of the priorities identified by the European Commission in June to be addressed before Georgia was granted the EU membership candidate status. 

The resolution cited Ivanishvili as an “oligarch” and called for sanctions on him and “all those who facilitate and are responsible for the deterioration of the democratic political process, if it is proven that Georgia helps Russia to avoid international sanctions” for the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.