President’s visits to the EU create crisis in Georgia

The Georgian Dream Party, which is in power in Georgia, announced that it will initiate impeachment proceedings against the president for his visits to the European Union (EU) made against the will of the government.

According to the Georgian news agency Interpress, the leader of the ruling party, Irakli Kobakhidze, claimed that President Salomé Zourabichvili “publicly violated” the Constitution.

Zourabichvili, who met German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin yesterday, is expected to meet European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels today to rally support for Georgia’s EU candidacy status, which is expected to be decided by the end of this year.

LETTER SENT TO PREVENT THE PRESIDENT

Kobakhidze claimed that the government sent a letter to prevent the president from attending the meetings.

Kobakhidze acknowledged that impeachment is unlikely to succeed as the Georgian Dream, which has an absolute majority in parliament, will also need the votes of opposition parties.

Zourabichvili, a former French diplomat of Georgian descent, was elected president of Georgia in 2018 with the support of Georgian Dream.

Since his election as president, Zourabichvili has split from the Georgian Dream party, accusing the party of being pro-Russian and not determined enough to join Georgia in the EU-NATO alliance. Georgian Dream claims that it wants Georgia to join both blocs.