Ian Bond: "Georgian Dream" is not a government that is serious about joining European structures

This is not a government that is serious about joining the European and Euro-Atlantic structures, - Ian Bond, deputy director of the CER, said in an interview with InterpressNews.

As Ian Bond explained, the "Georgian Dream" government is not taking the steps specifically required by the European Union to open accession negotiations.

"I think a lot depends on what will happen in Georgia's domestic politics. We know that the majority of the population of Georgia supports the country's accession to the European Union and NATO, but we also know that the current government is working almost against it with some of the laws it has adopted and some of the actions it has taken. I think that Georgia still has a chance, but it depends on the government and political stability and that you always follow this goal. If you have a government that will be able to come to Brussels and tell NATO and the European Union: This is our firm choice, this is the choice of the Georgian people, then I think the processes will start moving forward again, however, at the level of internal politics, it must be decided whether Georgia's chances are high or low. .

What we have seen is that the Georgian Dream government is not taking the steps specifically required by the European Union to open accession negotiations. We look at the actions and inactions of the current government and we should base our judgment on that. That is why accession negotiations were opened with Ukraine and Moldova, but not with Georgia, which I think is very unfortunate, because Georgia was the most advanced among the three countries that sought membership. Let me say, when we hear government officials talking about the war party, we see them attacking our partners in the EU and NATO, it creates a very bad impression. This is not a government that is serious about joining the European and Euro-Atlantic structures", said Ian Bond.

He also criticized the law "On transparency of foreign influence". Also, he expressed a critical position due to the fact that a number of flights between Georgia and Russia are being operated against the background of the fact that the European Union has suspended flights to Moscow.

"I think the law of "foreign agents", which is actually similar to the Russian law. The way you approach the law towards civil society, I think, is very problematic for European countries, for the United States, because it seems that it is designed to complicate the action of civil society in Georgia. We are countries where we have a very active civil society and this is a very unnecessary law for us.

Another issue that worries us is that we see that Georgia does not comply with EU foreign policy decisions. In particular, from the point of view of relations with Russia. There is the issue of sanctions here, and I also noticed that Tbilisi airport had more flights coming from Moscow than from any other direction, and this is considering that the EU has cut off air traffic with Russia. In this context, we expect to see a country trying to become a member of the European family", said Ian Bond.

He expresses hope that the ruling power will not gain a constitutional majority.

"At the very least, I hope that "Georgian Dream" will not have a constitutional majority, because this would be an extremely negative development that would be in absolute contradiction with European values, the rule of law and democracy, which are part of the agreements that Georgia will have to join if it wants to be a member of the European Union." , - declares Ian Bond, who also noted: "I hope that Mr. Ivanishvili will not be in a position to threaten the opposition parties after the elections, but if he is, I think we will have a real crisis with the West."