Kobakhidze Expresses Concern Over President's Visit to Brussels and its Potential Impact on Georgia's EU Candidacy Status
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, May 19, 2023
According to the information provided by the presidential administration, the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili has not yet obtained approval for her visit to Brussels on April 27.
As per invitation, President Zourabichvili, is scheduled to deliver a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels on May 31. The presidential administration confirmed that the Georgian President received an official letter from Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, on April 27 and that the invitation letter was promptly forwarded to the government on the same day to seek approval for the visit to Brussels.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of "Georgian Dream," addressed a journalist's question regarding the presidential administration and the recent statement indicating that the government has not yet authorized the president's visit to Brussels. In response, Kobakhidze expressed concern, stating, "We are apprehensive that the president's visit and her statements may have a detrimental impact on our efforts to achieve candidate status. As you were present in the parliament building and heard the president's statements during his report, I believe you will concur that these statements directly contradict Georgia's aspiration to attain candidate status in December, especially given the current circumstances."
Irakli Kobakhidze commented on Zourabichvili's recent statements, stating that it is incomprehensible to connect Russia's resumption of flights with the President's visit to a foreign country. He criticized Zourabichvli for speculating in such a manner and expressed regret over a person in the president's position engaging in such speculation.
Kobakhidze emphasized that granting approval for the visit is solely the prerogative of the Government of Georgia. If the government believes that the president's visit will hinder Georgia's chances of obtaining candidate status, they have the constitutional right to deny permission for the visit.
"The president should not speculate on the connection between Russia's unilateral resumption of flights and the president's visit to a foreign country. It is an entirely incomprehensible comparison and mere speculation. It is disheartening when a person in the position of the president engages in such speculation; it is truly regrettable.
Regarding granting consent for the visit, this authority lies exclusively with the Government of Georgia. If, for instance, the government believes that the president's visit will hinder Georgia's chances of obtaining candidate status, they have the constitutional right to withhold permission for the visit," stated Kobakhidze.
In response to the question about whether the statement suggests that the president will not receive permission, Kobakhidze clarified that he does not make any assertions. He stated that he is unaware of the current status of the government's decision on granting permission. It is possible that permission may be granted at a later time, as it is within the prerogative of the government.
Kobakhidze stated that it would be logical for the government to be concerned about the president's 'erroneous' statements. He mentioned that the president's statements, which imply that the parliament merely fulfills recommendations in a formal manner without taking real steps towards candidacy, could be harmful to the process of obtaining candidate status.
"But it would be logical for me that if the government is concerned about the president's erroneous statements-since we have heard statements from the president that could be detrimental to obtaining candidate status, such as suggesting that the parliament merely fulfills recommendations in a formal manner without taking any real steps towards candidacy-these are harmful statements. It would be preferable if the president refrained from making such damaging statements, especially in a public setting, to avoid compromising the process of obtaining candidate status. This seems entirely reasonable. As for the decision to grant the president permission to travel to another country, that remains within the government's prerogative," Kobakhidze explained.
