Ruling party claims President launches European trip for EU candidacy without Gov’t permission

The ruling Georgian Dream party officials on Wednesday accused President Salome Zourabichvili of violating the country’s constitution through launching her European trip to “facilitate the country’s obtaining the European Union candidate status” later this year without the Government’s permission. 

 

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the GD, on Wednesday said the President had left for Europe without the Government’s approval, “in violation” of the country’s main law that determines Georgia’s foreign course. 

 

Mdinaradze also claimed the President’s last speech in the state legislature earlier this year, in which Zourabichvili accused the country’s authorities of “demonizing” the West and repeating the “Kremlin’s messages” about “dragging” Georgia into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, had “contradicted” and “acted against” Georgia’s obtaining the status. 

 

Zourabichvili has been scheduled to start her trip from Germany, by a meeting with German counterpart on Thursday in Berlin, her office said. 

 

Georgia officially applied for EU membership in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, along with Kyiv and Moldova, instead of the scheduled date in 2024. 

 

The European Council in June 2022 granted Ukraine and Moldova the EU candidacy with conditions, while Tbilisi received only a European perspective and a reform agenda for implementation to get the status, which Tbilisi claimed was a “historic”, but an “unfair and a politically-grounded” decision. 

 

The European Commission will present a report on Georgia’s meeting the 12-point conditions in October, which will be used by the European Council to decide on the country’s candidacy in December.