The reform of justice, which Georgia must implement within the framework of its obligations under the April 19 agreement, is a condition for the macroeconomic assistance to Georgia, which the EU plans to allocate. This was stated on Monday by President of the European Council Charles Michel at a press conference following talks with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Batumi, TASS reports.
“The reform of justice is the main part of the April 19 agreement. This is also a condition for the EU's allocation of macroeconomic assistance to Georgia," Michel said.
The head of the European Council also commented on the appointment of six judges to the Supreme Court by the Georgian parliament on July 12. According to Michel, this was done in violation of the April 19 agreements. “The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court does not fully reflect the outcome of the consultations with international partners and local stakeholders. This is indeed a lost opportunity,” he said. The head of the European Council also called on the political forces of Georgia, which have not yet signed the agreement of April 19, to put their signatures on the document.
On April 19, the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party and representatives of the opposition signed an agreement to overcome the political crisis that has lasted since November 2020. The document was proposed by the head of the European Council and was named "Michel Agreement". The parties "United National Movement", "European Georgia - Movement for Freedom", as well as the Labor Party still refuse to sign it.
One of the main points in the document was the suspension of the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court pending a major judicial reform. However, the authorities appointed judges, explaining this by their catastrophic shortage, and also by the fact that a certain pause in their appointment after the signing of the agreement had already been taken. The opposition accused the ruling party of violating the agreement.
The political crisis in Georgia has been going on since November last year. The opposition refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections held on October 31, 2020, in which Georgian Dream won, and boycotted the work of the parliament. The crisis worsened after Nika Melia, a deputy and chairman of the opposition United National Movement party, was arrested on February 23 for failing to pay bail in a June 2019 riot case. A few days before Melia's arrest, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned due to disagreements with the team on this issue. The opposition leader was arrested already under Garibashvili. Melia was released from prison on May 10.
