Parliamentary sovereignty under attack, says ruling Georgian Dream party on EU legislative demands

The Political Council of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Sunday released a sharp statement addressing a letter signed by 17 European foreign ministers and the High Representative of the European Union.

The joint statement from the 17 European foreign ministers and the EU High Representative urged the Georgian government to “immediately release unjustly detained politicians, journalists, and activists, repeal repressive legislation, and engage in national dialogue with all relevant parties”.

The ruling party ridiculed accusations of political persecution in Georgia, turning the argument back on several EU member states, specifically Germany, France, and Romania.

“When discussing political persecution, we would like to remind everyone that if legal prosecution of politicians has ever acquired a political overtone, it is precisely in Germany and France. On the backdrop of the persecution of major opposition parties and their leaders in Germany and France, their talk of political persecution is, to say the least, ridiculous. We should also recall the outrageous incident in Romania, where the winner of the first round of the presidential election had the election annulled entirely, and later a criminal case was initiated against them, banning their participation in the elections. For the European bureaucracy, which fully supported this act of trampling democracy, to criticise Georgian democracy is entirely inappropriate”, the statement said.

The ruling party condemned what it described as external dictates telling the Georgian Parliament which laws to adopt or repeal, calling it a direct violation of parliamentary sovereignty and an insult to the Georgian people.

“The directive contained in the disinformation-laden letter, which states that ‘recently adopted repressive laws’ should be repealed, is also alarming. These laws aim to prevent the violation of Georgia's sovereignty and the weakening of state institutions through foreign funding. All these laws are in full compliance with legal principles and standards. Therefore, dictating to the Georgian Parliament what laws to adopt or not, without any argumentation, is a gross violation of parliamentary sovereignty and an insult to the Georgian people”, the statement noted.