'Republican Party' leader meets with international partners regarding 12 recommendations for Georgia obtaining EU candidacy
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, August 19, 2022
Khatuna Samnidze, the leader of "Republican Party", after the meeting with Adviser to EU Ambassador Julien Crampes, Court Program Manager Anne-Bridget Hansen and American Embassy Political Officer Evan Elliott, regarding the completing the 12 recommendations for Georgia to receive European Union candidacy, told media that the meeting was initiated from Georgia's partners and they are willing to observe the process closely for Georgia to achieve the candidacy status:
"It is in the interest of our partners that all 12 recommendations are fulfilled as much as possible and the country is able to receive the status - of course, they will observe this process very closely and try to support as much as possible everyone who will participate in this process - the leader of the "Republican Party" Khatuna Samnidze said.
According to her, the partners were interested in why there is a parallel process and how these processes will be combined at the committee hearings, where specific initiatives and legislative projects of the Georgian Dream working groups, as well as legislative projects of the opposition, will be presented.
"The meeting was initiated by our partners, the European Union, and there was also a representative of the United States of America. The main topic was the process of implementing the 12 recommendations - how we, our political group, "Republicans" and "Strategy Agmashenebeli" see this process, why and with what arguments we are not involved in the main process, why there is a parallel process and how we see the unification of these processes at committee hearings, Where specific initiatives and legislative projects of "Georgian Dream" working groups, as well as legislative projects of the opposition will be presented.
Of course, it is in the interest of our partners that all 12 points are fulfilled as much as possible and the country can get the status - this is in the interest of our partners, and of course, when we, part of the opposition, refused to participate in the work process, one of the main arguments was that "Georgian Dream" did not say what the process and decision-making mechanism would be. They also did not say what the criteria would be for the involvement of experts and non-governmental organizations working on a specific topic in this process.
Refusal of "fair elections" is proof that "Georgian Dream" wants to lead the process only with its own, one-party interest, to discredit all non-governmental organizations and opposition parties that do not agree with its positions. It is normal to be critical of any NGOs decision. This is a proof that "Georgian Dream" does not intend to make the process inclusive and only intends to have its own associates in this process and make decisions with its own one-party interest - this is dangerous, it is a step taken against the interests of the country," said Samnidze.
