Oliver Varhelyi is the European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement. He says that Georgia has made only limited progress towards de-oligarchization and has made no progress in the direction media pluralism.
Oliver Varhelyi said this at a recent press conference where he gave an oral report about how Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova are implementing the recommendations that were given to them.
“Georgia’s progress towards de-oligarchization has been limited.” In this regard the Venice Commission in its last recommendation, published in June, stated once again that the draft should not be passed in its current format. I therefore welcome the statements made yesterday and the day prior yesterday by the ruling party that this draft will not be passed. Georgia should now adopt a law which will establish a systematic approach in line the Venice Commission’s recommendations, including strengthening the competition policy and party funding rules.
“Georgia has not made any progress in terms of the standards for media pluralism or legal procedures against media owners.” Varhelyi stated that in order to comply with the European Council’s opinion, Georgia must amend the Law on Broadcasting and ensure the safety of reporters, as well as increasing the safety and freedom for both journalists and media owners.
He stated that he would be able to give you other directions.
In Georgia, we identified 12 priorities in our June Opinion and we see that 3 of these have been achieved.
First, we will discuss gender equality and the fight against violence against women. Second, the Court should take into account the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in its deliberations. Third, appointing an independent Public Defender is a transparent procedure.
Georgia has made progress in seven other areas. Georgia has made progress in seven other areas.
“So, briefly on the individual steps we see that on Step 1, the political polarization, most Members of Parliament have ended their boycott and few laws passed with cross-party approval. To address this priority fully, Georgia must ensure an efficient oversight over the Parliament, stop using harsh rhetoric, and honor past agreements, including the one mediated by the European Union.
“On Step 2, to improve the electoral framework and get the State institutions to function fully, the Government adopted a public management reform strategy and Action Plan. The electoral code and Law on Political Associations have been amended to align them with the Venice Commission recommendations and ODIHR’s recommendations. However, we still need Georgia improve the parliamentary supervision, investigate allegations of electoral fraud as highlighted in ODIHR’s reports, and reverse the electoral amendments that changed the appointment procedure for the CEC Chairman, which is the Central Election Commission.
“On Step 3, inclusive and effective judicial Reform, including the High Council of Justice. Georgia needs to submit amends on judicial to the Venice Commission for second opinion. To adopt a wider reform of the judiciary and especially of the High Council of Justice. And finally, to appoint all the remaining non-judges members of the High Council of Justice.
“A new Anti-corruption Bureau has been established on step 4 of anti-corruption. Georgia must ensure that its anti-corruption office operates independently, and that the Venice Commission has been consulted on any draft legislation. We would also ask Georgia to reconsider the decision to withdraw from OECD’s anti-corruption network.
“On Step 6, organized criminality, Georgia increased its cooperation with Europol. Now Georgia must address all outstanding recommendations of Council of Europe MONEYVAL.
“On Step 8, Georgia must ensure that an Action Plan for Human Rights Strategy, which includes all groups and ensures freedom of assembly and protection for the LGBTQI community is prepared.
“As part of Step 10, Georgia must resume a constructive dialogue with civil society and implement transparent and regular consultations.
“Georgia has made limited progress in the area of de-oligarchization.” In this regard, the Venice Commission reiterated in its recent recommendation of 12th June that the draft legislation should not be adopted as it is. In this context, I welcome the ruling party’s announcement yesterday and the day prior that this draft law would not be adopted. Now, Georgia must adopt a law that outlines a systemic approach in line with Venice Commission recommendations. This includes strengthening rules on competition policy, financing of political parties, and other regulations.
“Finally, Georgia has not made any progress on media pluralism or standards for criminal proceedings against media owners.” To achieve this step, Georgia must amend the Law on Broadcasting in accordance with the legal opinion of Council of Europe, and ensure the safety of reporters and raise the level of protection of media freedom for journalists and owners.”
He said that Moldova had implemented three out of nine recommendations from the European Commission formulated last year, when the country was granted the status of candidate for accession. These were in relation to electoral legislation, consultation with civil society and respect for human right. The official also said that the judiciary still needs to be reform.
He said that Ukraine had fully met two out of seven conditions set by Brussels as part of Ukraine’s candidacy. The steps are deemed essential for the formal start of accession negotiations, which Kyiv hopes to happen before the year’s end.
The reforms completed concern the composition of the two high-level judiciary bodies, and the media sector. Its legislation has been amended to conform to EU standards.
Ukraine has made “good” progress on a third requirement, namely the selection of judges for Constitutional Court, and “some” progress on the other four requirements: the fight against corrupt practices, the prevention of money-laundering, the reduction of excessive influence by oligarchs and the protection of minorities.
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