Georgia’s ruling party Sec Gen says European Parliament’s decision to strengthen its transparency regulations yet another example of “double standards” applied toward Georgia

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said that the European Parliament’s decision to strengthen its transparency regulations was yet another example of “double standards” applied toward Georgia.

Responding to a related question from journalists, Kaladze argued that European bureaucrats often acted according to their own interests when it came to Georgia.

“It is a typical example of double standards. We can name many similar cases. We should not pay attention to statements that usually come from European bureaucracy and are filled with falsehoods. They have their own interests regarding Georgia, and certainly not in our favor. We should ignore this and act according to what our country’s future, security, peace, and economic development require”, Kaladze said.

He further added that the European Parliament was now doing exactly what it has criticized the Georgian Government for.

“What they were prohibiting us from doing - saying it was unacceptable for us to adopt such laws - they are now adopting and tightening themselves, so that everything is transparent. We want the same: transparency in all processes. When some MEPs say they are looking for other ways - ‘black holes’ - to bring money into Georgia, this is precisely what we do not want. If you are doing good work, what do you have to hide? Everything should be transparent. The second issue concerns family values. This is important for every Georgian. If they claim it does not matter, what does that mean - that family values are unacceptable to them and we must simply do as we are told? That is not acceptable for us”, he continued.

Kaladze also commented on remarks made by Germany’s Ambassador to Georgia Peter Fischer regarding laws recently adopted in the country.

“Mr. Fischer should stop interfering in political processes and mind his own business - his own country. This is another clear example of double standards. I don’t even know whether to call him an ambassador; through his actions, he is everything but that. Let society judge what we are dealing with”, he concluded.