President Zurabishvili says ‘unclear’ why gov’t refused to take EU loan
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has disapproved of the government’s refusal on the 75 million euro EU loan in a special statement earlier today. Photo: president’s press office.
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has stated it is unclear for her and the public why the Georgian Dream government has refused to take the second tranche of the EU’s 150 million euro loan which should have been addressed to decrease 'the social and human damage that COVID has done to our population'.
Zurabishvili said that the reason cited by the government for the refusal - positive moves in the state economy and the wish to decrease the country’s foreign debt - is weak.
She also said that ‘such unilateral decisions’ affect the country’s reputation and discourage investors.
We must also understand that in the post-Afghanistan period, a new strategic situation is emerging where our stability and security will depend more on Europe than before,” Zurabishvili said.
She stated that when Georgia has plans to apply for EU membership by 2024 it is important for the country to show more stability in its decisions and retain the trust of partners.
Our European future is in our hands. We need to focus on our progress, our objectives, our principles and have more ambition, not only in words, but also in deeds. pic.twitter.com/oTFkJU7XUV
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) July 19, 2021
She said that the October 2 municipal elections will be significant on the path of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and the government should ensure the holding of the race in a free and a competitive environment.
Zurabishvili slammed the United National Movement opposition party for its ‘brazenly' signing the EU mediated agreement after ‘taking all steps to undermine the agreement over the past six months.’
I stand on the side of Georgia's European choice, I do my best to ensure that no one, neither the government with reckless steps nor the destructive opposition, which today brazenly signs a document that was undermined six months ago, can jeopardize the strategic interests of our country,” Zurabishvili said.
The US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan also stated today that the Georgian government’s refusal on the loan ‘was surprising’ and that Washington will take the decision into consideration.
The United National Movement (UNM), the largest opposition party in Georgia, has decided to join the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement after more than four months of refusing to do so.The UNM’s decision comes on the heels of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s withdrawal from the agreement at the end of July ‘because the main opposition, the UNM, refused to join the agreement,while other opposition parties were constantly violating it.’
The EU delegation to Georgia has responded to the Georgian government’s recent refusal to take the second tranche of the EU’s 150 million euro loan, stating that they ‘respect’ the decision, but noting that the country has been unable to completely fulfil preconditions that would have been needed to receive the second instalment.
The United National Movement (UNM) and the European Georgia opposition party leaders say that the Georgian government has refused to take the second part of the EU’s €75 million euro loan because the EU was likely to impose sanctions against Georgia for the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s withdrawal from the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has announced that the government has decided not to take the second tranche of an EU loan as 'we are trying to reduce foreign debt'. In 2020 the EU disbursed a €60 million grant as part of its €75 million Covid-19 Resilience Contract for Georgia to assist in the implementation of the government’s Anti-Crisis Economic Plan.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili ‘seems not to be well-informed’ about the EU loan and that is why she criticized the government yesterday for its refusal to take the second tranche of the EU’s 150 million euro loan.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili says that the composition of the Georgian government by the majority only over the past nine years has shown that a coalition government ‘is necessary for Georgia,’ Zurabishvili has told Le Journal du Dimanche during her recent trip to France. However, Zurabishvili says that it is hard to forecast how the coalition government may work.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party says that ‘there are no expectations’ that President Salome Zurabishvili may pardon ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili who pledges to return to Georgia from Ukraine on the evening of the October 2 municipal election day.