On December 18, 2024, the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, addressed the European Parliament. This speech by the President in one of the main institutions of the European Union should have deserved special attention from the Georgian media at any time, and especially now, when the topic of the speech was the political crisis in the country and the participation of the European Union in overcoming this crisis. Despite the fact that Article 16, paragraph 1, subparagraph “n”, of the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting obliges the Public Broadcaster to promote Georgia’s integration into the European Union, the Public Broadcaster did not broadcast Salome Zurabishvili’s speech in the European Parliament live.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the Public Broadcaster, under the current management, has failed to fulfill its obligation. Moreover, the Public Broadcaster often broadcasts statements that are not in favour of EU integration, but rather, on the contrary, incite Eurosceptic sentiments. Vasil Maghlaperidze, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Public Broadcaster, is currently hosting a series of podcasts on the Public Broadcaster, the main topic of which is Georgia’s foreign policy. Together with invited guests, Vasil Maghlaperidze and Giorgi Gvimradze systematically express Eurosceptic opinions, developing the view that Georgia's European integration process has been stalled due to the lack of readiness from Europe, that Georgia needs alternative models of integration, such as 3+3 and deepening the strategic partnership with China. Vasil Maghlaperidze's political bias in favour of the ruling Georgian Dream is obvious. Maghlaperidze held the position of Director General of the Public Broadcaster in 2017-2020, then for a short time in 2021 he was the Deputy Chairman of the Georgian Dream party. As he publicly explained, he had left the post only due to health problems, but stated that he had not changed his political tastes or views. After resigning as the head of the ruling party, Maghlaperidze returned to the high position at the Public Broadcaster, this time as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The Eurosceptic attitude that Maghlaperidze expresses in his podcasts on the Public Broadcaster and the failure of the Public Broadcaster to fulfill its obligation to promote EU integration are completely consistent with the anti-Western policy pursued by Georgian Dream in recent years. Given these circumstances, we consider it completely impossible for the Public Broadcaster to maintain party neutrality and continue to promote EU integration under the current management.

In order to protect the idea of ​​the Public Broadcaster, to ensure that the broadcaster fulfills its content obligations and adequately informs the public, we demand:

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Public Broadcaster, Vasil Maghlaperidze, and the Director General, Tinatin Berdzenishvili, to resign.

Democracy Research Center (DRC)

Rights Georgia

Human Rights Center (HRC)

Sapari

Center for Multi-Party Democracy (EECMD)

Europe-Georgia Institute (EGI)

Green Alternative

Georgia’s Reforms Associates (GRASS)

Women's Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG)

Partnership for Human Rights (PHP)