Georgia: EPP concerned about European course of GeorgiaBrussels, 5 November 2014
The European People’s Party (EPP) today expressed its concern over the recent developments in Georgia regarding the departure from the government of all pro-European Ministers and the politically motivated arrests. The EPP calls on the Georgian authorities to avoid any form of political prosecution and to respect the values contained in the Association Agreement recently signed with the European Union (EU).
For two years now, the repeated arrests, trials and detention of political opponents in Georgia have raised serious concerns over the use of selective justice. The EPP has already condemned this practice numerous times. The dismissal of the Minister of Defence, Irakli Alassania, and the subsequent resignation of almost all the leaders in charge of Georgian foreign policy, followed by their statements accusing the government of abandoning the policy of Euro-Atlantic integration, are also reasons for concern.
All of this is also aggravated by the statement of the President of Georgia underlining that the country is governed outside of any form of institutional framework by a person who has no official function.
The possible political instability which could ensue as a result of the dismissal of the Minister of Defence, followed by the resignations of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Euro-Atlantic integration, risk destabilising Georgia at a crucial time, when the European Parliament is proceeding with the ratification of the Association Agreement between Georgia and the EU.
Therefore, EPP Vice President Jacek Saryusz-Wolski reminds the Georgian government that “the policy of association with the European Union is based on a respect for European principles, democracy and the rule of law.”
“We urge the Georgian authorities to refrain from any form of political prosecution. Moreover, we denounce once again the systematic use of selective justice and pre-trial detentions against opposition leaders and express the hope that all pro-democracy parties in Georgia can work together to preserve the European and Euro-Atlantic path of the country,” the EPP Vice President concluded.
Note to editors: The EPP is the largest and most influential European-level political party of the centre-right, which currently includes 78 member-parties from 39 countries, the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, 11 EU and 6 non-EU heads of state and government, 14 members of the European Commission and the largest Group in the European Parliament. For more information:
Javier Jiménez, EPP Director of Press and Communications, Tel. +32-475480446
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