Georgian authorities refuse to fulfil condition for resumption of EU accession
Georgia's ruling party, Georgian Dream, has stated that it will not withdraw the law entitled On Transparency of Foreign Influence, which has become one of the reasons for the deterioration of Tbilisi's relations with its Western partners and the freezing of the country's movement towards the EU.
Source: Georgian TV channel Channel One, citing Mamuka Mdinaradze, Executive Secretary of the Georgian Dream party, as reported by European Pravda
Details: During a briefing, Mdinaradze was asked about the possibility of withdrawing the controversial law, to which he replied: "No. You won't be happy, but we're not going to withdraw it."
Mdinaradze said that if Georgia did not have this law, "tens of thousands of people would be standing on Rustaveli Avenue [Tbilisi's central street] right now".
"Both this law and the ban on propaganda [the law banning 'LGBT propaganda' – ed.] were legitimised by the majority of the Georgian people," he added.
Background:
- The EU has repeatedly emphasised that adopting a law similar to Russia's "foreign agents" legislation has stalled Georgia's progress towards European integration.
- The EU has also criticised the legislative package that restricts the rights of the LGBT community, noting that it further diverts Georgia from the EU path.
- Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated on 30 October that repealing the laws on "foreign influence" and "family values" is a prerequisite for Georgia to resume its path towards EU membership.
- At the summit on 17 October in Brussels, EU leaders reiterated their statement that Georgia's European integration process had effectively been halted.
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