Threats coming from MEPs accused in corruption “not serious” – ruling party MP

Irakli Zarkua, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said “threats that are coming from certain MEPs accused of corruption” over links between the release of currently imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili and the EU’s upcoming decision whether to grant the country its candidate status, were “not serious” for the current Georgian authorities. 

Claiming Georgia was a state governed by laws, the MP made a mention of MEPs Andrius Kubilius, Markéta Gregorová  and Anna Elżbieta Fotyga and stressed the country would not “develop in accordance with the rules offered by them”. 

“I have a reasonable suspicion that these MEPs are paid lobbyists”, he said. 

The EU is scheduled to decide on Georgia’s candidate status later this year. 

The opposition members say the presence of Saakashvili in prison could hamper the country’s EU integration process, demanding the third president’s transfer abroad on medical grounds. 

Earlier this month, Tbilisi city court denied granting Saakashvili release on health grounds or the postponement of the rest of his six-year-sentence for abuse of power while in office.