| Series Title | EurActiv |
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| Series Details | 12.03.13 |
| Publication Date | 12/03/2013 |
| Content Type | News |
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The chairman of the Georgian Parliament responded strongly in March 2013 to criticism from the European Parliament’s centre-right European People’s Party that Georgia's Prime Minister could 'close European doors' by backsliding on democratic reform. Twenty-three MEPs published an open letter to Georgia's Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili on the 6 March 2013, accusing him of backsliding on democracy. The 23 MEPs listed a litany of grievances, including public pressure on legislators; pressure on the judiciary and the public broadcaster; inflammatory rhetoric and use of mobs to silence political opponents; and the frequent use of hate speech. Georgia's 'European perspective' could be compromised under such circumstances, the MEPs warned. Since elections on the 1 October 2012 the political situation in Georgia had been marked by a standoff between Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and President Mikheil Saakashvili. Subsequently, in May 2013 a former Georgian prime minister, Vano Merabishvili, was arrested on corruption charges in a move that might rekindle international concerns over alleged selective prosecutions under billionaire premier Bidzina Ivanishvili. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.euractiv.com/europes-east/war-letters-attests-georgia-poli-news-518405 |
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| Countries / Regions | Europe, Georgia |
