Georgian political parties on Wednesday 31 March rejected the agreement proposal of the European mediator, Christian Danielsson, Special Envoy of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
“None of the political parties could accept this solution in its entirety”, Mr Danielsson lamented. At a press briefing in Tbilisi, he recalled that a solution to the current crisis existed, but that it required “political courage and responsibility”.
“To live up to its European aspirations requires a spirit of compromise, especially on the part of the ruling party, in order to bring the country out of the crisis”, he forewarned, regretting that this willingness was not on the table. The Georgian government intends to apply for EU membership in 2024.
However, “there was some agreement on the need for electoral reforms, reform of the judiciary and power sharing in Parliament. This is positive and we must continue to work on it”, explained the Special Envoy.
He announced that he would report to President Michel on the developments of the last few days and that it would be up to the latter to decide on the next steps and the timing of these steps.
According to the proposal, the parties pledged to “end the current political dispute and advance Georgia’s democratic and Rule of law agenda through political, judicial and anti-corruption reforms”.
They also intend to “enable (the) country to stay strong and united in meeting the health and economic challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic”, to ensure the country’s security and stability interests amidst regional challenges, and to act with “further” determination to meet Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Finally, political parties should enter Parliament, participate fully in parliamentary work and perform their functions until the next parliamentary elections “with mutual respect and in recognition of the importance of unity in the interest of Georgia’s stability”.
The proposals, together with a timetable, focused on tackling perceptions of a politicised justice system, ambitious electoral reform, the Rule of law and judicial reform, power-sharing in Parliament, and future elections.
See the proposal: https://bit.ly/3mbhsBh (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)