It’s Inappropriate, That’s How We Understand Europe – Papuashvili on EU Ambassador Statement

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The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, called the statement of EU Ambassador Pavel Herchinski, that the impeachment procedure of the President does not help the implementation of the recommendations, inappropriate.

‘’I think that this statement is inappropriate since it concerns the Constitution of Georgia and the rule of law.

If we talk about common European values, we in large part mean that the rule of law unifies us all and there are no first and second-class countries in this regard – countries where the rule of law and the constitution are important and countries where the constitution is secondary. Therefore, I think that the Georgian Dream is displaying the real European approach by addressing the court instead of trying to solve the issue with political squabbles and bickering. That’s why we have the Constitutional Court, isn’t it? To present its competent opinion on constitutional issues,’’ said Papuashvili.

According to the Chairman, such statements encourage the President to stubbornly keep violating the constitution and deepen polarization.

‘’Therefore, I call on foreign actors to respect the constitutional framework of the host country. We see that this process is going to the court in a totally civilized, European manner. This is what Europe is about! This is how we understand Europe!

If Europe is about something else, please let us know, that Europe implies that we should put up with a violation of the constitution and not respect the rule of law,’’ said Papuashvili.

Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, Pavel Herchinski, was asked by journalists today about the impeachment process of the president. The ambassador called the initiation of the impeachment procedure by Georgian Dream untimely and unhelpful. According to him, this move weakens the state institutions of Georgia, and it happens exactly when the European Commission should publish the first report on enlargement.

Members of the parliament Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili, Mamuka Mdinaradze, and others (80 MPs in total) applied to the Constitutional Court on September 12, 2023, for the impeachment of the President. The ruling party accuses the president of violating the constitution, as despite the government's refusal, Salome Zourabichvili still went ahead with meetings with European leaders. The Constitutional Court completed the consideration of the case on October 5 and, by Constitution, it has a one-month deadline to prepare the verdict. In case the Constitutional Court determines that Salome Zourabichvili has violated the Constitution, 100 deputies' votes are needed to unseat the President, which Georgian Dream comes short of. The opposition does not support the impeachment of the president.

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