Controversy Ensues as EuroNest Falls Short on Georgia Support
The head of the Georgian delegation to the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, Maka Botchorishvili, accused the opposition members of the delegation and the Ukrainian delegation of not supporting a draft resolution on the occupied Georgian territories and the EU integration of Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia. The opposition members of the delegation have denied the accusation and blamed the anti-Western rhetoric of the Georgian Dream as the reason for the failure to collect the ten signatures needed to register the resolution.
- Underlines the “strong commitment” of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to use all available means to achieve EU integration;
- Demands that Russia immediately cease all military actions in Ukraine, unconditionally withdraw all forces, proxies and military equipment from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, and refrain from further threats or violations of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity;
- Calls on the EU institutions and member states to take significant steps to ensure that Russia fulfills its obligations under the EU-brokered ceasefire agreement of August 12, 2008.
- Calls on the EU institutions and Member States to use the term “occupation” in relation to the regions of Georgia – Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region – which are illegally occupied and controlled by Russia, in accordance with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights and the findings of the International Criminal Court;
In the 110-member EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, 60 members come from the European Parliament, while the remaining 50 represent the Eastern Partnership countries, including ten members each from the national parliaments of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The participation of Belarus is currently suspended. During the 11th session of the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly held in Brussels, the Georgian delegation consisted of nine members, five of whom represented the GD and four the opposition.
On March 20, Maka Botchorishvili informed journalists that her initiated draft resolution received support only from the five Georgian Dream members of the Georgian delegation and three representatives of the Moldovan delegation. Two additional signatures were required to register the resolution. She says the Georgian opposition and the Ukrainian delegation declined to sign the document.
On the same day, the National United Movement (UNM), Georgia’s largest opposition party, issued a statement on Facebook accusing MP Botchorishvili of “disinformation.” UNM says the Georgian Dream party attempted to register the resolution without notifying opposition party representatives. They say the MEPs were reluctant to sign due to GD’s anti-Western actions and rhetoric.
MP Bochorishvili revisited the matter in a detailed social media post. She highlighted that the draft resolution was initiated following negotiations with the Moldovan and Ukrainian delegations, as it pertained to all three countries. She also said the opposition’s assertion of being unaware of the resolution was false since the draft was officially sent to the political groups. MP Botchorishvili also mentioned that she directly requested signatures from the opposition MPs, and the delegation’s Secretariat reminded them about it on multiple occasions.
In her statement, Botchorishvili also emphasized that the opposition’s assertion that she couldn’t garner ten supporters among 110 members of the assembly was “absurdly ignorant.” “The initiative of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine required signatures from these three delegations, not from the entire European Parliament, which would have been easy if not for the refusal of the Ukrainian delegation and the Georgian opposition to sign,” – she remarked.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
