Parliament official says ruling Georgian Dream party “unwavering” on key laws

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, on Wednesday said it was impossible to equate visa-free travel with the family values law, which he says prohibits “LGBT propaganda among children, gender reassignment surgeries for minors, and the recording of so-called sex or gender different from biological sex in official documents”.

In his remarks, Gorduladze noted that the ruling party would not retract legislative changes crucial for the country's sovereignty and independence.

“These values reflect Georgian identity. We also have the transparency law, which is again important for our security and sovereignty. On the other hand, we have the situation of people potentially standing in line for days to travel to the European Union. It's unimaginable to put these two realities on the same level”, the official said.

He further accused the European bureaucracy of attempting to blackmail Georgia, particularly with elections approaching, to stir up sentiment and potentially lead to a change in Government.

“European bureaucracy knows very well that the Georgian Dream team and the Georgian people will not retract legislative changes that are important for our country's sovereignty and independence. Despite this, they write all this and blackmail us because they have one goal: elections are coming, and they want to somehow raise the stakes. They are again blackmailing the Georgian people, hoping to somehow change the Government and bring the United National Movement back to power”, he continued.

He further added that visa-free travel referred only to travel for tourist purposes, while a European Union visa was still required for legal work or medical services. Gorduladze also highlighted that the Georgian Government had done everything possible to ensure visa-free travel to the European Union.

The European Commission had sent a letter to Georgia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Maka Botchorishvili, outlining eight recommendations the country must fulfil to avoid jeopardizing its visa-free travel with the EU.

One of the main recommendations is the repeal of the laws on transparency of foreign influence and on the protection of family values and minors.