Georgia may renounce EU candidate status

Head of the Healthcare and Social Issues Committee of the Georgian Parliament Dimitri Khundadze has said that Georgia will have to renounce an EU candidate status if it is granted to it on unfair terms.

"If Georgia receives an EU candidate status upon the same unfair conditions that were outlined in the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on June 9, 2022, then the country should fairly refuse in response," Khundadze told reporters, according to TASS.

The MP criticised the European Parliament’s resolution on the situation of the media in Georgia, which was adopted on June 9.

The document contains a call to consider the possibility of imposing personal sanctions against the founder of the ruling “Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia” party, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, due to the negative impact on Georgian democracy.

The resolution also calls on the Georgian authorities to release former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and former director-general of the opposition Mtavari Arkhi TV channel Nika Gvaramia.

“It was an open insult to the Georgian people. Moreover, I have not yet seen such an unfair attitude of Europe towards Georgia during the period of independence. We will not betray dignity for the sake of obtaining status,” he added.