Tuesday, September 9, 2025

MEPs issue statement over Georgia

In a statement issued on Thursday, leading MEPs expressed their ‘profound concern regarding the further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia.’

The Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs David McAllister, the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Sergey Lagodinsky, the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus Nils Ušakovs, the European Parliament’s Standing Rapporteur for Georgia Rasa Juknevičienė and the Chair of the European Parliament’s Election Observation Mission for the 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia Antonio López-Istúriz White issued the following statement on Thursday.“We express our profound concern regarding the further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia. We are shocked by the news that former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia was violently assaulted in a Batumi hotel and afterwards treated in hospital. This is yet another example of the escalating violence orchestrated by the Georgian Dream and its allies against peaceful protesters and dissidents.

We stand with the peaceful protesters who for 50 days have been demonstrating every evening in the streets of Georgia for a democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of their country. Georgia was for many years a champion of Euro-Atlantic aspirations with an overwhelming support of the people for this choice. That has not changed. What has changed is that the Georgian Dream has denied Georgians their future and does not even pretend anymore that they want a European democracy for Georgia.

The deteriorating situation in Georgia should not stay without a response. We stand by the position that currently President Salome Zourabichvili is the only clearly legitimate representative of the will of the Georgian people. We do not recognise the results of the parliamentary elections on 26 October 2024, as they were fraudulent and did not respect international standards for democratic elections. We do not recognise any decisions taken by this body. We strongly encourage the EU and its Member States to introduce personal sanctions against all those who are responsible for the democratic backsliding, in particular Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Kobakhidze.

We encourage individual Member States and relevant regional organisations to avoid actively legitimising the self-appointed Georgian Dream authorities and call in this regard for suspending the EU Georgia Association Council. We urgently call for early elections, conducted in an improved election environment, managed by an independent and impartial election administration with widespread international observation, to ensure a genuinely free, fair and transparent process that would represent the will of the people of Georgia.”

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Giorgi Gakharia on Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement: Georgia should have been an active architect of this new regional reality, shaping peace, but the pro-Russian Georgian Dream...

The pro-Russian Georgian Dream has left the country isolated from progress and prosperity, Giorgi Gakharia, the leader of the Gakharia for Georgia party, writes on the social network X.He responded to the peace agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia yesterday.As Gakharia notes, Georgia will inevitably take its rightful geostrategic place.“Congratulations to our friends and neighbours, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and their leaders President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan, on choosing peace and opening a new chapter for the South Caucasus. With President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. has once again proven its ability to deliver peace and stability in the region.Georgia should have been an active architect of this new regional reality, shaping peace, driving connectivity, and securing our shared future with allies, but the pro-Russian Georgian Dream has left the country isolated from progress and prosperity.Nevertheless, Georgia will inevitably take its rightful, geostrategic place in shaping the region’s future within President Trump’s peace and prosperity project for the South Caucasus,” Gakharia wrote.

Tbilisi Mayor: Majoritarians in Tbilisi maintain daily contact with citizens, continue support in future

“The majoritarian candidates nominated by Georgian Dream will work with me for the good of the city over the next four years,” said Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze in response to a media question.“Many positive projects have been completed in the capital over the past eight years, but challenges remain. We have a clear vision and a plan to address these issues and develop the city. Majoritarians are in daily contact with residents, and we will continue to support them in the future,” he added.The Tbilisi Mayor also stated that he is indifferent to who the opposition nominates as their mayoral candidate.“I am not particularly interested in who the opposition chooses as their candidate. Along with my team, I have a vision for what our capital needs over the next four years, specific projects to implement, and how to respond to the ongoing challenges in Tbilisi. Who other political parties nominate is of no real importance to me,” he emphasised.On August 7, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced the Georgian Dream party’s candidates for the upcoming local government elections, who will contest single-mandate seats in the Tbilisi City Assembly (Sakrebulo).

Georgian PM congratulates U.S., Azerbaijani Presidents, Armenian PM on closing landmark peace deal, says Georgia stands for regional peace, cooperation

“I congratulate the Presidents of the U.S. and Azerbaijan, and the Prime Minister of Armenia on closing a landmark peace deal. Georgia has always stood for regional peace and cooperation,” wrote Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on the X Platform.According to the PM, Georgia will continue to support peace and stability in the region.“Georgia welcomes this historic moment for Armenia and Azerbaijan, the region and the entire world! Congratulating U.S. President Donald Trump, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on this success — closing a landmark peace deal and opening a new era of stability and economic development in the region. Georgia has always stood for regional peace and cooperation — and will continue to support it unwaveringly,” he said.The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict as they were hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, August 8.Armenia and Azerbaijan had committed to stop fighting, open up trade and diplomatic relations and respect each other’s territorial integrity.

Speaker: If Amaglobeli’s supporters seek culprits, ambassadors urged her not to cooperate with investigation

“If Mzia Amaglobeli or her supporters are looking for culprits, those culprits were sitting in that courtroom as ambassadors who were encouraging her not to cooperate with the investigation,” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili declared.Parliament Speaker has accused foreign ambassadors of being responsible for journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli serving her full two-year prison sentence, claiming they discouraged her from cooperating with investigators and accepting a plea bargain.“When we reviewed the 24 embassies’ statement on Mzia Amaglobeli’s verdict, I noticed the French ambassador’s signature. Let me remind you that in France, a person was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for slapping Macron. The person then cooperated with the court, admitted guilt, and received four months in prison with 14 months suspended, though still an 18-month sentence for assault,” Papuashvili stated.“In Georgia, the court sentenced 24 months’ imprisonment for an analogous, similar case. It was exactly the same situation: a person who slapped the French president in the face, and in Georgia, a person was slapped in the face. The cases are identical analogies, including similar punishments: 18 months in France, 24 months in Georgia.What’s the difference? The difference is that it was four months in prison and 14 months non-custodial in France, because a plea agreement was arranged. In Georgia, however, Mzia Amaglobeli neither cooperated, nor admitted guilt, nor accepted the proposed plea bargain,” Papuashvili stated.The Speaker accused the French ambassador of hypocrisy in calling Georgia’s sentence disproportionate.“The French ambassador calls this disproportionate. You know that the prosecutor’s office offered Mzia Amaglobeli a plea agreement. There was no agreement from Amaglobeli’s side, no admission of the crime that all of Georgia witnessed live on air. Accordingly, the court likely had no opportunity to make any further determinations,” Papuashvili added.The Speaker blamed ambassadors who attended court hearings for advising against cooperation with the investigation.“If Mzia Amaglobeli or her supporters are looking for culprits, those culprits were sitting in that courtroom as ambassadors who were encouraging her not to cooperate with the investigation. It is on the conscience of the ambassadors present in the courtroom that no plea agreement was reached, and that Mzia Amaglobeli must serve the full two years.In the case of a plea bargain, it could have been part of a conditional sentence or a different arrangement. Instead of Mzia Amaglobeli, much like the individual in France who confessed to the crime, the ambassadors effectively cornered her. A sentence of 24 months is entirely proportional, and it is false to claim that it is disproportionate. The French ambassador is particularly misleading, as in France, a person was sentenced to 18 months for exactly the same offence,” said Papuashvili.Batumi City Court on August 6 has sentenced Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of the Batumelebi and Netgazeti media outlets, to two years in prison. The sentence will commence on January 12, 2025, the day of her arrest.

Employment Promotion Agency opens applications for funding short-term vocational courses

The State Employment Promotion Agency is now accepting applications for funding of short-term vocational training and retraining courses. Both public and private educational institutions may submit the required documentation between August 11 and 22.Deputy Health Minister Gia Tsagareishvili emphasised that such training enhances skills and boosts employment opportunities. He encouraged regional centres to participate in the programme.The Employment Promotion Agency currently collaborates with approximately 30 public and private colleges. Short-term vocational training programmes range from one to three months and cover areas such as computer programming, aesthetics, beauty therapy, accounting, hospitality, catering, engineering, home care, working with children with special needs, and educational leadership.In 2025, the agency financed over 80 courses for 2,000 citizens nationwide, with most securing employment thereafter. In 2024, up to 3,700 job seekers benefited from the programme, gaining valuable new skills.Applicants are advised to visit the State Employment Promotion Agency’s service centres to register.

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