Georgia Update – Flights & more– 18th May 2023

th of May: 2023

We start with protests on Rustaveli Avenue against the visa-free regime and direct flights between Georgia and Russia…

On Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th, a group of people protested in front of the Parliament against the direct flights conducted by the Russian Airlines’ company Azimuth, which had Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries on its booking site. The rally participants chanted: "The Russian ship cannot bring us into the European Union." Then, the protesters moved to the office of Georgian Airways as the company plans to operate flights with the occupying country from Saturday the 20th. Opposition politician, Elene Khoshtaria, made an announcement at the same time that the first direct flight of the Russian Airlines took off on Friday the 19th. She made an announcement to "show the whole world that no one applauds this plane except Otsneba, the Georgian dream."

On Monday, the 15th, the Civil Aviation Agency announced that Azimuth Airlines would start to operate flights between Georgia and the Russian Federation on Wednesday, the 17th, adding that Azimuth Airlines is not on the EU blacklist. Also, the agency said that the company is not on the list of sanctioned airlines of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury. However, on Thursday the 11th, according to the US State Department, companies at Georgian airports could face sanctions if they are used for importing and exporting. Also, Peter Stano, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Commission, described Georgia's decision to resume flights to and from Russia as "regrettable" and urged the Georgian authorities to align with international sanctions on Russia, adding that this step raises concerns in terms of Georgia's EU path.

On Friday the 12th, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze announced that the European Court of Human Rights or ECHR denied Misha's request to move to Warsaw, Poland, for medical treatment while he is imprisoned. However, the decision confirmed that the government acted in accordance with human rights standards during the official's detention and treatment. Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Parliament, mentioned that the decision confirmed a false campaign carried out against Georgia. However, Misha said in a Facebook post that the judicial process in Strasbourg continues as his fight for life, for Georgia, and for Ukraine. President Salome Zourabichvili stressed that it was important that Strasbourg's verdict did not harm Georgia's reputation, especially when Georgia needs to fulfill the EU recommendations.

Continuing on the ECHR decisions...

t that took place in November: 2019

Moving on to Justice and Electoral systems reform.

On Monday the 15th, Otsneba gave the opposition twenty-four hours to present suitable candidates for the High Council of Justice. Ana Natsvillishvili, MP for Lelo, as well as other members of the opposition, expressed concerns about how the government made the opposition run against the clock for presenting candidates for the High Council of Justice. However, on Wednesday the 17th, despite the discontent of the majority of the opposition MPs, some of them supported Otsneba's initiative, and in Parliament, in a secret vote, elected three non-judge members of the High Council of Justice. Reports later revealed that five MPs from the United National Movement or Natsebi voted in favor of the candidates. As a result, four members of Natsebi, under the pressure of their colleagues, left the Natsebi fraction. NGOs criticized the appointment of non-judge members to the High Council of Justice, seeing it as an effort to maintain power within the existing judicial clan.

On Tuesday the 16th, the ruling majority at a parliamentary session agreed to the opposition's request and decided to abandon proposed changes to the Election Code. The proposed changes would have required political party-appointed members of the precinct election commissions to hold an election commission member certificate. The opposition viewed this as a ploy by the ruling party to leave them without commission members. After the opposition criticized the proposal, Mamuka Mdinaradze spoke on behalf of the ruling party and dropped the existing draft.

We continue with some international news.

On Monday the 15th, Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Rasmussen, visited Georgia. He actively participated in the official opening of the Danish Embassy in Georgia and met with several high-ranking Georgian officials, including Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, and Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili. Additionally, he visited the occupation line to assess the situation near the occupied territory.

of Discrimination, adopted in: 2014

On Wednesday the 17th, PM Irakli Garibashvili, joined a resolution proposed at the Council of Europe's Summits of Heads of State and Government. The resolution aims to establish a Register of Damage caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine. The event took place in Reykjavik, and a total of forty-three countries and the European Union indicated their intention to join the Register. In his speech, Garibashvili emphasized Georgia's strong commitment to quickly gain EU membership. "We are determined to swiftly progress on the EU accession path, and the candidate status is our next immediate milestone. Taking this into account, we have truly worked diligently to address almost all of the twelve recommendations outlined for granting Georgia the candidate status."

We end with the twelve recommendations…

On Tuesday, the 16th, the Open Society Georgia Foundation and eight non-governmental organizations updated an assessment document – EU CANDIDACY CHECK- reflecting the progress the Georgian authorities achieved regarding the twelve EU recommendations. According to the report, the authorities have not made significant progress in fulfilling the priorities with only four months left. Currently, the government has fully implemented only one priority: proactive consideration of ECHR judgments, mostly fulfilled two: fight against organized crime and gender equality, and partially fulfilled four: electoral and institutional reforms; anti-corruption measures; vulnerable groups rights; and an independent ombudsperson. However, they have not implemented five priorities, including depolarization, an independent judiciary, de-oligarchization, a free media environment, and civil-society involvement. Unsurprisingly, Otsneba members criticized the document. Irakli Kobakhidze, leader of Otsneba, said that "Soros Foundation" attempts to sabotage Georgia's EU candidacy status.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! We are a few people trying to share knowledge, with no ads, and no screens. Support us so we can keep bringing this to you. Check the link in our show notes to support us.

Nakhvamdis!