On 15 July 2022, President of Georgia issued a decree on convening an extraordinary session of the parliament from 18 July 2022, in order to consider a number of issues necessary for granting Georgia the EU candidate status. The President was addressed by 46 opposition MPs requesting that she convene an extraordinary session.

The issues specified for consideration at the extraordinary session are the draft law on constitutional amendments that has already passed its first reading, and the initiated draft laws on the amendments to the Law on Common Courts and on the establishment of anticorruption agency. The consideration of aforementioned bills has been suspended in the Parliament.

The issues that have been put on the agenda for the session are those very issues that will facilitate democratic changes, political pluralism and constitute a significant step towards the fulfillment of 12-point recommendations from the EU.

The initiative of opposition MPs and the President’s decision to convene the extraordinary session must be assessed as a step taken towards overcoming a political polarization. It is important that ruling party members do not reject a constructive cooperation, facilitate the restoration of trust, engage in the consideration of issues on the agenda for the extraordinary session and attend a plenary sitting.

True changes that will bring us closer to the EU can only be implemented through cooperation between political forces. It is primarily the responsibility of the ruling party to help reduce the polarization, to not only offer the political opposition a cooperation within the format established by it, but also to prove its will to meet the EU requirements by adopting particular changes.

Rejection by the Georgian Dream of the offer from the opposition will be perceived as the refusal to cooperate and to make real changes. When it is in the interest of the ruling force, the parliamentary majority always manages to mobilize to speedily take decisions.

We call on the members of the parliamentary majority to discuss the issues of the extraordinary session at committee sittings, take part in the extraordinary plenary sitting and support legislative changes thereby helping our country move forward on the path towards the EU integration.