Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has criticised recent statements by EU representatives concerning proceedings at the Constitutional Court of Georgia over a lawsuit put forth by the ruling Georgian Dream party seeking to ban five opposition parties.
The statement comes amid deepening deterioration in relations between Georgia and the EU.
The European Parliament condemned Georgian Dream for the lawsuit, which seeks to ban five opposition parties, in a resolution adopted on 8 October.
Georgian Dream officials criticised the resolution, with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze comparing the European Parliament to the Soviet Union’s Supreme Soviet.
In a statement published on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry added to the criticism. ‘The ministry considers that assessments questioning the legitimacy of the proceedings before the court has examined the case and prejudging the judicial process represent an attempt to exert undue pressure on a constitutional institution and constitute interference in Georgia’s internal affairs’, the statement read.
The ministry also criticised recurring rhetoric by EU representatives regarding Georgia’s domestic political and legal developments, arguing that such statements undermine an objective assessment of ongoing processes and hinder constructive engagement between Georgia and the EU.
The statement called on EU representatives to refrain from comments or actions that could prejudge ongoing judicial proceedings or be perceived as interference in the work of independent constitutional institutions.
The response followed remarks from European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand on Monday. He said that efforts to ban opposition parties risk undermining fundamental freedoms, democratic pluralism, and fair political competition.
‘These developments alongside recent legal amendments and earlier statements about banning opposition parties suggest a troubling instrumentalisation of the justice system’, Wigand said in response to a question from a Euroscope journalist.
The Constitutional Court has accepted a lawsuit filed by the ruling Georgian Dream party seeking to ban five opposition parties for consideration on the merits. The parties are the United National Movement (UNM), Coalition for Change, Strong Georgia–Lelo, the Federalists, and Gakharia’s For Georgia. Hearings are scheduled to begin on 21 October.
OC MediaLana Kokaia
Under Georgian law, the Constitutional Court has nine months from the filing of a complaint to decide cases concerning the prohibition of political parties.
In response to a separate question about the imprisonment of TV Formula host Vakho Sanaia, Wigand said the EU had repeatedly criticised Georgian Dream’s actions against political opposition, journalists, and activists.
‘Georgian authorities must immediately release unjustly detained politicians, journalists, and activists and reverse repressive legislation’, he said.
The Tbilisi City Court sentenced Sanaia to 30 days in prison over a series of social media posts that the Interior Ministry claimed insulted Georgian Dream figures. It was the second time the journalist had been jailed for mocking ruling party politicians and the third penalty imposed on him.