PM’s EU Remarks Defy Constitution, CSOs Say
18 Georgian civil society organizations have said recent statements by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and certain Georgian Dream MPs in reaction to European Parliament’s critical resolution, go against the Constitution and damage the European integration path.
On June 11, PM Garibashvili stressed that while EU candidate status is important, it is symbolic, while GD MP Dimitri Khundadze claimed a day earlier that “dignity” for Georgia stood above prospective EU candidacy.
CSOs said such rhetoric from the authorities seriously endangers the European choice of the vast majority of the Georgian population.
The CSOs called on the authorities to follow their mandate as outlined by Article 78 of the Constitution which stipulates that “constitutional bodies shall take all measures within the scope of their competencies to ensure the full integration of Georgia into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”
In the statement, civil society outfits also called on the Georgian Parliament to immediately pass a resolution confirming the Government’s “readiness to unwaveringly follow the European aspirations of Georgian society and to announce the concrete steps that the Georgian Government must take in the coming days.”
They further urged authorities to submit a plan to both the Georgian people and the EU which will outline “systemic solutions” to the problems set out in the EP’s resolution.
The document was signed by the Democratic Research Institute (DRI), Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF), the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), the Rondeli Foundation, and the International Society for Fair and Free Elections (ISFED), among 13 other Georgian organizations.
Georgia is currently awaiting a decision to be delivered by the European Union on its candidacy status from June 23 to 24.
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