On January 29, the Georgian Parliament held a working meeting with opposition parties and representatives of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum regarding the implementation of the 9 reservations of the European Commission.

We, the signatory organizations, are not members of the Platform, however, we have been working on the issues covered by the 9 reservations of the European Union for years. After it became known that a working meeting was planned to be held in the Georgian Parliament, some civil society organizations wrote to the Speaker of the Parliament and asked to be involved in the working process. In the statement, which was signed by organizations working on the topic of democracy and the rule of law, we called on the Parliament to expand the format of cooperation with the civil sector and ensure a broader working format and the involvement of stakeholders.

Nevertheless, our request was not satisfied and the Parliament refused to invite civil society organizations to participate in the working process.

We believe that, on the basis of the 9th reservation of the European Commission, the Parliament is obliged to ensure a real working process, expand the format of cooperation with the civil sector and give all stakeholders the opportunity to participate in the European integration process of Georgia.

Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA)

Sapari

Social Justice Center

Democracy Research Institute (DRI)

Europe-Georgia Institute (EGI)

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)

Caucasus Open Space

Rights Georgia

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy

Human Rights Center