Today, the wealthy and their affiliated NGOs published a letter in which they reprimanded the Georgian authorities for leaving the American sanctions without responding. As reported to the public  7 months ago, visa restrictions were imposed on several current and former Georgian judges on behalf of the United States State Department. The Georgian authorities tried to obtain evidence from the partners to support the relevant charges, but to no avail. Moreover, we heard a completely unconvincing explanation that the imposition of visa restrictions for judges was based on information received from open sources, namely, televisions, newspapers and other mass media. Also, 6 weeks ago  the citizen of Georgia, Otar Partskhaladze, was included in the American list of sanctioned persons. As the head of the State Security Service of Georgia explained at the parliament session, the service requested relevant evidence from its partners. However, as it turned out, the Georgian authorities did not receive any evidence neither in official or private meetings, nor  through open and closed channels. Moreover, the partners themselves asked the Georgian agencies to obtain and send evidence on the case of Partskhaladze. This information shows that the imposition of visa restrictions for judges and the inclusion of Otar Partskhaladze in the list of sanctioned persons were not based on any facts or evidence. In the past, there were frequent cases when our strategic partner faced awkward situation due to the irresponsible actions of rich NGOs.  Even consider the scandal associated with the results of parallel voting in the elections, for which one of the rich NGO  created the greatest inconvenience. A couple of weeks ago the new Ambassador of the United States of America  Mrs. Robin Dunigan  arrived in Georgia, with whom senior representatives of our government have already held very productive meetings. We have a strong  basis for optimism that the Georgian-American strategic partnership will deepen significantly during Ambassador Robin Dunnigan's tenure. In this situation the statement of the wealthy NGOs is a step against the positive efforts of the ambassador, the obvious purpose of which is to maintain unwanted misunderstandings in Georgian-American relations. The imposition of visa restrictions on judges without evidence has created serious discomfort in relations. The respective efforts of the NGOs  were dictated by the interest in gaining control over the judiciary  among other objectives. However, we tried our best not to bring this issue to the fore in public discussion, so as not to deepen the embarrassment. With this background, when rich NGOs  themselves are trying to actualize their own improbity, we think this fact deserves special concern. Exactly the same forces that have been providing distorted information to our partners for a long time, who  actively agitating against the granting of candidate status to Georgia, are today trying to keep the old artificial inconveniences on the agenda and thereby create new inconveniences, forcing us to not  ignore their actions without responding. It is also significant that the rich NGOs are making the above-mentioned statement against the backdrop of the country waiting for the decision of the European Commission on the status of a candidate. Attacking the authorities a week before the announcement of the decision of the European Commission is nothing more than another rough action directed against the granting of candidate status to Georgia. It can be seen from everything that rich NGOs do not serve the interests of Georgia, America or Europe. In fact, they serve the "global war party", whose main goal is the Ukrainization of Georgia. The mentioned force and the NGOs in its service do not want to deepen the Georgian-American relations and are trying in every way to maintain the old, negative trend in these relations, which we cannot allow. These NGOs protested against the law on "Transparency of foreign financing" and did not want to make their foreign financing transparent to the public, fearing that their anti-state plans and sources of financing would be revealed. Now, rich NGOs are trying not to allow the new American ambassador to reset relations and, on the contrary, to damage these relations in some way. We hope that Robin Dunnigan will not actively react to all the actions that are directed against the deepening of relations between the two countries.. We are confident that under Ambassador Robyn Dunnigan, Georgian-American relations and strategic partnership will deepen significantly, for which the management team will make every effort.

After the conclusion of the session of the parliamentary majority, which was held at the head office of the Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the party and the leader of the parliamentary majority, made a statement. “Today, as you know, the session of the parliamentary majority took place. As per tradition, we discussed various topics there, including issues of the parliamentary agenda. Of course, the discussion touched on the statement of the State Security Service. The information released by the State Security Service is really concerning. Of course, all measures should be taken in order to put a stop to any attempt to disrupt the state of affairs, any provocation, especially the grave provocations that were discussed in the information released by the State Security Service. Also, our discussion touched on topics pertaining to the European Union. As you know, meetings were held one week ago and, correspondingly, negotiations were held with representatives of the European Commission, including Mr. Josep Borrell, as well as with other high-ranking officials of the European Commission. Four issues were identified during these meetings, in connection with which the European Commission wants to see progress by the end of September of this year. The Government of Georgia will fully respond to the expectations of the European Commission in all four areas – we agreed on this today at the meeting of the majority, and I would like to address all four issues: After the meetings with the representatives of the European Commission, in accordance with the recommendation of the European Commission, the Commission for the Integration of Georgia into the European Union under the Government of Georgia has already approved the draft action plan for deoligarchization, which will be finalized after additional consultations with the European Commission. In addition, the draft action plan will be sent to the Venice Commission by the end of this week – this was also one of the recommendations of the European Commission. Given the approval of the action plan, the law “On Deoligarchization” adopted by the Parliament in two hearings has lost its practical relevance. Therefore, also in accordance with the recommendation of the European Commission, the Parliament will consider the said draft law – which was based on the so-called personalized approach – in the third reading tomorrow and will not adopt it. At the same time, we call on the European Commission to reject the personalized approach, which was reflected in the 12 priorities, and which was actively used for speculation by both the opposition in Georgia and the MEPs and other foreign politicians connected with it. This was the first issue. With regard to deoligarchization, we are in full compliance with the requirement of the European Commission. During the meetings with representatives of the European Commission, the additional amendments to be made to the Organic Law “On Common Courts” were also discussed. Taking into account the consultations, the parliamentary majority has already developed the relevant draft law, which will be reviewed and sent to the Venice Commission by the end of this week. This was also one of the requirements of the European Commission, which we have also fully met. As you know, draft amendments to the “Election Code” have been initiated in the Parliament of Georgia, which deals with the issue of electing the CEC chairperson and its members. The Parliament will consider and adopt this law in the first reading during the current session week. In accordance with the recommendation of the European Commission, the draft law will also be sent to the Venice Commission by the end of this week. In accordance with the recommendation of the European Commission, the legislation related to the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Special Investigation Service, and the Personal Data Protection Service will be sent to the Venice Commission by the end of this week. That is, there were four main recommendations voiced by Borrell, Koopman, high representatives of the European Commission, and we have acted on all four issues, we have an appropriate response for all topics.In addition, in accordance with the recommendation of the European Commission, in line with the recommendations of MONEYVAL, a national risk assessment document on money laundering will be approved in the near future;Also, an initial draft of the Human Rights Strategy Action Plan will be prepared;Also, information on the investigation related to the identification and prosecution of the organizers of the violence that took place on 5 July 2021 will be sent to the European Commission;Both general and specialized coordination meetings with nongovernmental organizations will continue.These were the four additional recommendations presented to us by the European Commission, and we responded to all four recommendations accordingly.As you can see, the Government of Georgia is doing everything in order not to leave even the smallest reason for Georgia the Georgian people, and the Government of Georgia to be refused candidate status once again.We hope that the European Council will make a fair decision in December, which will deprive the radical opposition of the artificial pretext for inciting radicalism in the country, and will qualitatively reduce so-called polarization, whose retention can only be in the interests of those who wish Georgia ill.”

Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze was presented with the top award of the Sabino Arana Foundation in Bilbao. The chairman of the ruling party was presented with the award for deepening Georgian-Basque friendship, protecting democracy and human rights. The event was organized by the ruling party of the Basque Country in the Theater of Bilbao. Irakli Kobakhidze addressed the participants of the event with a speech. “First of all, I would like to sincerely thank the Sabino Arana Foundation for the award. It is a great honor for me to be a person who is committed to friendship with Basques and the Basque Country. I represent a small but very proud country, Georgia. My nation has had to struggle for centuries to protect its identity, land, religion, and language. That is why we, Georgians, especially value patriotism and people loyal to their homeland. Accordingly, I am very proud to receive the award named after the great patriot Sabino Arana. Several scientific conclusions prove that there is a historic connection between Basques and Georgians. Although the geographical distance between the Basque Country and Georgia is quite large, there are obvious similarities in culture, traditions, and folklore. Winemaking is an essential characteristic of our cultures, which indicates that we share common roots. Also, Georgian and Basque languages are structurally close to each other. Georgians are well aware of this connection, and they are very proud of it. This connection motivated previous generations of Georgians, as well as my colleagues and I, to support the further deepening of friendship between our peoples. Tbilisi and Bilbao, Vitoria and Kutaisi, Laguardia and Gurjaani have been sister cities for decades. A Basque language department has been established at Tbilisi State University. There is a continuous partnership but there is also a great deal of space for further development of cooperation in the fields of culture, education, sports, tourism, gastronomy, and investment. Allow me to note that we have planted several Guernica trees throughout Georgia as a symbol of the strong bond and friendship between the Basque and Georgian peoples. You have a very beautiful country with remarkably beautiful nature, landscapes, cities, and villages. But the most valuable beauty of the Basque Country is its warm people. Each Basque we met motivated us even more to strengthen our friendship. Thank you very much for this! My country, Georgia, is currently facing several fundamental challenges. Twenty percent of our territory is occupied by the Russian Federation, and its peaceful de-occupation is one of the main national goals of my people. In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, there was a danger that the military conflict would spread to Georgia as well. It was the main goal of our government to avoid war in our country and we have achieved it successfully. Georgia firmly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemns Russia’s military aggression in all international forums. At the same time, we are pursuing a pragmatic policy in order to prevent escalation and promote peace in the region. Georgia is also trying to be the facilitator between two neighboring countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan. And finally, we believe that peace and development has no alternative, and that all nations must consistently follow this path. Despite being a small country, Georgia plays an important role for the international community, both politically and economically. Geographically, Georgia connects Europe with Asia and has great potential to further develop its transit function and capabilities. With a liberal economic policy, we provide fertile ground for economic activity and investment in our country. Thanks to peace and consistent policies, we managed to achieve double-digit economic growth in 2021 and 2022. With this trend, Georgia is becoming an even more attractive country for cooperation for all its friends and partners. Our goal is to become a full member of the European Union. We applied officially and hopefully Georgia will receive EU candidate status in December of this year. Your support is very important in achieving this goal. Overall, the general context also provides fertile ground for further strengthening of friendship and development of cooperation between the Basque Country and Georgia. I consider it my responsibility to do my best to support this positive trend.  Allow me to once again thank the Sabino Arana Foundation and all our Basque colleagues for the award as well as for friendship and hospitality,” Irakli Kobakhidze stated.

Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze met with Tiny Kox, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg. Irakli Kobakhidze congratulated Tiny Kox on his election to the position of President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for a second term. Tiny Kox, in turn, thanked Irakli Kobakhidze for his support. It was noted at the meeting that the Council of Europe fully supports Georgia in the process of implementing the 12-point plan. The progress made in the area of reforms in Georgia was emphasized. The discussion also touched on the ongoing political processes in the region. In addition to the head of the ruling party, the meeting was attended by Georgian Parliamentary Delegation Head Irakli Chikovani and Georgian Ambassador to the Council of Europe Tamar Taliashvili.

Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze met with Marija Buric, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg. Delegation Head Irakli Chikovani and Tamar Taliashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to the Council of Europe attended the meeting together with the head of the ruling party. At the meeting, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe thanked the Georgian delegation for its active work. The discussion touched on the importance of the Council of Europe’s support for Georgia. Marija Buric stressed Georgia’s significant progress in the area of reforms and noted that the Council of Europe fully supports Georgia in the process of implementing the 12-point plan. During the meeting, Irakli Kobakhidze and Marija Buric also discussed the political situation in the region.

Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze met with Pawel Herczynski, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia. At the meeting held in the central office of the Georgian Dream, the Chairman of the ruling party and the Ambassador of the European Union spoke about the processes taking place in connection with the deepening of future cooperation between Georgia and the European Union and the implementation of the 12 recommendations of the European Commission. The discussion also touched on the political situation in Georgia.

ანგარიში ევროკავშირის 12 პრიორიტეტის შესრულების თაობაზე

A session of the parliamentary majority was held at the central office of the Georgian Dream. Members of the ruling team discussed several important issues during the session. A decision to continue working has been made regarding the issue of candidates for the positions of Public Defender and member of the High Council of Justice. Therefore, tomorrow’s vote will be purely formal, and no candidate will have the support of members of the majority. “The process was derailed by the opposition’s use of ultimatums during the selection process and, correspondingly, by their deliberate disruption of the work process. Opponents did not want to state their support for any candidate; therefore, we will not be able to elect either an ombudsman or a member of the Council of Justice. The ruling team will try again to eliminate this shortcoming by the spring session and to reach a consensus regarding the candidates,” Georgian Dream Faction Chairman Mamuka Mdinaradze stated. In addition, the hearing of the reports by the National Statistics Office and the National Communications Commission will be held tomorrow.

Parliamentary Majority Session Held at Georgian Dream Head Office  A session of the parliamentary majority was held at the central office of the Georgian Dream. Members of the majority discussed the issues initiated by Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili at today’s session of the government. The parliamentary majority fully supports the Government of Georgia and the Prime Minister in the implementation of these issues. Regarding the issue of the public defender, the majority will present its position to representatives of the opposition at tomorrow’s meeting. The discussion during the session touched on the issues to be considered at the plenary sessions of the ongoing session week. This week, Parliament deputies will hear Tea Akhvlediani, state minister on issues of reconciliation and civil equality, and Justice Minister Rati Bregadze in the Minister’s Hour format.

Parliamentary Majority Session Held at Georgian Dream Head Office A session of the parliamentary majority was held at the central office of the Georgian Dream. Majority members discussed the draft law “On Deoligarchization.” By the decision of the majority, the draft law will be sent to the Venice Commission for a legal opinion. The majority will not consider the draft law “On Deoligarchization” in the third hearing before receiving the opinion of the Venice Commission. Members of the majority were briefed about consultations held with the opposition regarding candidates for the position of ombudsman. By the decision of the parliamentary majority, consultations with the opposition will continue in connection with eight candidates for the position of ombudsman. The eight candidates are: Ana Abashidze, Giorgi Burjanadze, Lela Gaprindashvili, Tinatin Erkvania, Nugzar Kokhreidze, Giorgi Mariamidze, Ketevan Chachava, and Iago Khvichia. Members of the majority also discussed issues to be considered at the plenary sessions of the ongoing session week. On 1 December, the Parliament will hear Education and Science Minister Mikheil Chkhenkeli in the Minister’s Hour format.

Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the Georgian Dream party, met with Lars Klingbeil, co-chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. During the meeting, they discussed Germany’s role and support in the process of Georgia’s EU integration and deepening mutual cooperation. “A very friendly and productive meeting was held with Lars Klingbeil, chairman of the  Social Democratic Party of Germany. We discussed cooperation between the parties as well as the importance of Germany’s support. It was noted during the meeting that Germany supports our European integration and that everything will be done to ensure that we are successful on this path. Deepening party cooperation between our party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany is very important to us; this will facilitate the further deepening of relations between the two countries,” Irakli Kobakhidze stated. The meeting was attended by members of the Georgian Dream delegation: Maka Botchorishvili, chairwoman of the Parliament’s European Integration Committee, Irakli Chikovani, deputy chairman of the Georgian Dream faction, and Georgian Ambassador to Germany Levan Izoria.

On 14-15 October, the delegation of the Georgian Dream, led by Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze, will participate in the International Congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in Berlin. The delegation includes Maka Botchorishvili, chairwoman of the European Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Irakli Chikovani, deputy chairman of the Georgian Dream faction, and Nino Tsilosani, chairwoman of the Georgian Dream’s Women’s Organization, the Agrarian Issues Committee, and the Permanent Parliamentary Gender Equality Council. “We talk with our partners about Georgia’s European Future, its European perspective, the processes related to candidate status, and, of course, we talk about the fact that Germany’s role and support is particularly important in this process. Members of the Bundestag are well-informed about the ongoing process, including in terms of the 12 points; however, we provide them with much more in-depth information on how the process will unfold and how we see Georgia being granted candidate status. Leaders from practically all European countries are represented at the Congress, including leaders of ruling parties and prime ministers and, naturally, their role is very important in terms of both strengthening Europe in general and highlighting Georgia’s role in the common European family. We will make the most use of this platform in order to bring our message and our national interests to our partners as much as possible,” Irakli Kobakhidze stated.

A session of the parliamentary majority was held at the head office of the Georgian Dream. Issues to be considered at the plenary sessions of the ongoing week were discussed at the session, which was attended by members of the majority of the Tbilisi City Council. Legislators will discuss amendments to the 2022 state budget of Georgia at the 4 October plenary session. On 5 October, amendments to be made to the Election Code and the Rules of Procedure will be discussed. On 6 October, Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, will be given the floor in Parliament in the Minister’s Hour format. On 7 October, the Parliament will hear the Public Defender’s report.

Exactly 10 years ago, on 1 October 2012, the people of Georgia proved that they place the highest value on state sovereignty, democracy, fundamental human rights, dignity, freedom, equality, solidarity, true European values, love of the homeland, and respect for the Church, and that these values stand above all else. Exactly 10 years ago, the people of Georgia, under the leadership of Bidzina Ivanishvili, emerged victorious over the criminal authoritarian regime that fought against and trampled all the aforementioned values. Today, the Georgian state is more sovereign than ever. Precisely as a result of bolstering state sovereignty, the Georgian Dream government is the first government in the most recent 30-year history of Georgia under which the country has not had a war. Maintaining peace in the country, developing the economy, raising the quality of the population’s well-being, firmly protecting human dignity, freedom, and equality, and ensuring the strength of the homeland and the Church are the main principles on which the activities of the Georgian Dream will be based in the future as well. Today, Georgia is facing major challenges. However, we firmly believe that with the support of the Georgian people, we will overcome all difficulties with dignity. Unifying Georgia and bringing prosperity to every family is the dream on which our political movement was founded. We believe that this dream of every patriotic Georgian will come true very soon.

A session of the parliamentary majority was held at the head office of the Georgian Dream. Members of the majority reviewed the issues to be discussed at the plenary sessions of the ongoing session week. In the ongoing session week, the Parliament will vote on the candidacy of Tsotne Kavlashvili for the position of General Auditor of the State Audit Office, which will receive the support of the parliamentary majority. The majority will also support the proposal of Levan Ioseliani, Parliament deputy from the opposition Citizens party, to elect an ombudsman by open vote. This week, the Parliament will hear Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Culture, Sport, and Youth Thea Tsulukiani within the format of Ministerial Hour, and Minister of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health, and Social Protection Zurab Azarashvili through the procedure of interpellation. The Parliament will also elect the committee chairmen nominated by the Georgian Dream.

Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze and Nikoloz Samkharadze, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament met with Pawel Herczynski, the newly appointed Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia. Future cooperation between the European Union and Georgia was discussed at the introductory meeting. In addition, the parties talked about the processes taking place regarding the implementation of European Commission’s 12-point recommendation. The meeting was attended by EU Delegation Deputy Head Asuncion Sanchez Ruiz and Julien Crampes, counsellor to the Ambassador of the European Union.

As you know, there are three vacant positions of committee chairpersons in the Parliament of Georgia. Today marks the deadline when the Georgian Dream faction must submit candidates for all three vacant positions from among the representatives of its faction, and we are presenting our team’s decision. The following candidates will be presented to the Parliament of Georgia with my signature: Mr. Kakhi Kakhishvili as Chairman of the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee, Mr. Irakli Medzmariashvili as Chairman of the Sports and Youth Issues Committee, and Mr. Zaza Lominadze as Chairman of the Healthcare and Social Issues Committee. I wish all three of them success. I’m certain that the Parliament of Georgia will make the decision to elect them in the next session week.

As you know, the government is actively working on the implementation of the 12-point plan set out by the European Union, one of the points of which concerns the revision of the Election Code of Georgia. A working group headed by Givi Mikanadze was set up in the Parliament of Georgia in order to implement the relevant reform. A package of draft laws will be developed by the working group in the near future, which will essentially be based on OSCE/ODIHR recommendations and topics discussed in the working group with the involvement of political parties and civil society representatives. Part of the proposals presented in the working group concerned the widespread introduction of electronic technologies in the electoral process. In this regard, the political team of the Georgian Dream discussed – and made a decision on – the widespread introduction of voter registration and voting using electronic equipment from 2024. Last year, the voting procedure in the Krtsanisi District of Tbilisi was carried out using fully electronic means. This year, the midterm Sakrebulo [City Council] elections in eight election precincts of Batumi Municipality were held using electronic equipment. The successful experience of voter registration and voting with the use of modern technologies allows us to implement this initiative on a large scale from 2024. Namely, according to our decision, voter registration and voting will be carried out using electronic equipment in the majority of election precincts, including all cities and large settlements, which covers at least 70 percent of voters. Electronic voting will definitively solidify public confidence in the vote counting process, eliminate the problem of imbalance in election protocols, put an end to speculation about so-called electoral carousels, ensure that the votes of over 70 percent of voters are counted – and the results published – within minutes of the conclusion of the voting process, and eliminate problems pertaining to the falsification of exit polls and parallel vote tabulation (PVT). Correspondingly, our decision of today will be one of the most important constituent parts of the electoral reform, which will minimize the problem of the manipulation of election results. Our initiative will take the shape of a draft law in the coming days, at which point practical steps will be taken to equip polling stations with voting equipment, on the basis of consultations with the Government of Georgia, the CEC, and experts in the field.

An offsite working meeting of the Georgian Dream’s parliamentary majority and the government team was held at the Ambassadori Hotel in Kachreti. Current political issues and the ruling team’s policy regarding the current issues were discussed at the meeting. Also, the elapsed period since the beginning of 2022 was assessed, and future steps were planned. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of coordinated work by the government and the parliamentary majority in the process of implementing the 12-point plan.