EGI Political Digest 59

Leaders of the Republican party of Georgia were attacked on Rustaveli Avenue

According to Republican Party MP Khatuna Samnidze, two men attacked her on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.

Speaking to Formula TV, Khatuna Samnidze explained that after a press conference with other opposition parties, she was walking along Rustaveli Avenue with her party colleague Davit Berdzenishvili, when two men approached them, started talking and “Suddenly they started swearing, insulting on political grounds.”

According to her, the attackers also threatened them – that they should not walk in the streets alone, without guards, after which they resorted to physical violence. Samnidze stressed that  they tried to leave the place but the men chased them with “threats, insults, physical and verbal abuse.”

According to Davit Berdzenishvili, the attackers “deliberately started” talking to them on other topics, and then started swearing.

Georgian opposition parties Lelo and Girchi – More Freedom have joined ALDE

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) has accepted Georgian opposition political parties Lelo for Georgia and Girchi – more freedom as full and associate members. The decision was made at a congress in Dublin on 2 June 2022.

Currently, there are a total of five Georgian parties among ALDE members. Before that, the Liberal Party network included the Republican Party of Georgia, the Free Democrats and the Strategy Agmashenebeli.

At the Dublin Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party People’s Servant was also accepted as a member of the European Liberal Party.

ALDE passed a resolution in Dublin on June 4 in support of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine joining the European Union. All three countries applied for membership shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. The European Commission will present its opinion on the statements of the three countries in the coming weeks.

The resolution emphasizes the need for further work in all three countries in the areas of rule of law, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the media, redistribution of power and human rights. The document reads that granting candidate status will strengthen the democracies of the three countries and “free them from Russian influence.”

Salome Zurabishvili can not see any logic in the Georgian Dream’s statements to the MEPs

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili criticized the Georgian Dream for making “obscure” statements “sometimes to MEPs and sometimes to Europe” as the country awaits EU candidate country status.

“We hear statements from the parliamentary majority that probably are not thought through or are unnecessary at the time when we know we are waiting for [EU] decisions,” the president said in an interview with Palitra TV.

Salome Zurabishvili also responded to the statement of the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Carl Hartzel, that the country could be better prepared for the membership application. “You can always prepare better,” the president said, adding that “many things could have been done differently. There could have been other rhetoric, I’m sure of that.”

“I do not see the logic of that,” the president said as she assessed statements made by members of the ruling party to MEPs. “First of all, some things shall not be said, because it is a matter of politeness, and secondly, is this the right time for all this?”

According to the President, “it is necessary to work with partners and not to insult them.” “If we do not want critical statements about the Government of Georgia, for example, we need to work more with the MEPs in Brussels on PR to show what Georgia really looks like, what we want to achieve.”

New EU Ambassador to Georgia nominated

EU High Representative Josep Borrell has nominated Pawel Herczynski as the new Head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia. 

Herczynski is currently EEAS Managing Director for Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) and Crisis Response and also served as Director for Security and Defense Policy in the EEAS. Earlier, he worked as Ambassador of Poland to the Political and Security Committee (PSC). 

Also, within the Polish Foreign Ministry, he held several senior positions, including Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Deputy Director of the EU Department – European Correspondent, and Deputy Representative of Poland to NATO Political Committee in Brussels. 

Herczynski is set to replace Carl Hartzell, who has been serving the post since September 2018.