Parliament Should Hold a Clear Position on the Processes Taking Place in Ukraine
Until present, the activities of the Parliament of Georgia on issues related to the events taking place in the region have been limited to two closed meetings in a parliamentary format. The Parliament has not either made any decisions or expressed its response regarding the matter. At the same time, the draft resolutions of the Parliament, initiated by the parliamentary opposition in December, remain unconsidered.
With regard to the security and foreign policy of the country, the role assigned to the Parliament requires the body to take active actions rather than limiting itself with passive approach. Article 78 of the Constitution of Georgia strengthens the country's Euro-Atlantic foreign policy. Having defined the main directions of Georgia's foreign policy in 2013, 2016 and 2020, the Parliament more specifically determined the vector of Georgia's foreign policy: towards membership in the EU and NATO; in relation to Russia, de-occupation and restoration of the country's territorial integrity; and in terms of developing relations with the country's key strategic partner and ally, the United States.
By the same document, the Parliament of Georgia has identified as its priority to actively participate in the implementation of the foreign policy by performing oversight and other functions. According to the Constitution of Georgia, the Parliament of Georgia determines the main directions of the country's foreign policy and controls the activities of the government.
It is clear that the increased aggression of Russia against Ukraine and the inevitable hostilities will affect Georgia's security and development, ultimately jeopardizing the country's Euro-Atlantic course; this will have a long-term impact on the population of Georgia and the internal politics of the country in various areas. At the same time, a number of recent decisions made by the government (the abolition of an independent body of the state inspector; the appointment of Supreme Court judges and the weakening of legislative guarantees of judicial independence, the amendments introduced to the rules for electing the chairperson and members of the Central Election Commission, etc.) were seen by Western partners as detrimental to Georgia's European perspective.
In view of the foregoing, the important role of the Parliament, both of the parliamentary majority and the opposition, is obvious, which means to determine the direction and coordinate the specific actions of the government, including:
- To define the course of the country with respect to foreign affairs, defense and security by adopting resolutions or other forms of decision-making that will serve as a guide for the executive government.
- On behalf of the population, to state their position concerning the processes taking place around Ukraine.
- To ensure that the steps planned by the government are in line with Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic course in the current circumstances.
With this in mind, the parliamentary majority:
- On January 13, 2022, held a joint sitting of the two committees in the Parliament of Georgia, at which European security issues were discussed behind closed doors. All that is known about the meeting is that the purpose of the sitting was to obtain information from the two deputy ministers about the meetings between the US and Russia and between NATO and Russia.
- On January 14, 2022, the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security discussed the issue "The environment of global and regional security, the impact of ongoing processes on Georgia's security and national interests." The meeting heard the Deputy Minister of Defense and several other officials.
- The autumn and extraordinary sessions of 2021 were finalized in such a manner that the parliamentary majority did not even consider the draft resolution “On the events taking place in Ukraine” initiated by representatives of the opposition (Mikheil Daushvili, Ana Buchukuri, Giorgi Khojevanishvili, Beka Liluashvili, Shalva Kereselidze, Alexander Motserelia) on December 21, 2021, as well as the resolution "On Georgia's Accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization" initiated by the representatives of the opposition (Salome Samadashvili, Badri Japaridze, Ana Natsvlishvili, Armaz Akhvlediani) on December 13, 2021.
- Meanwhile, the Parliament has not made any decisions in the form of a resolution or otherwise regarding the current developments around Ukraine.
The Opposition:
- Although the opposition initiated the draft resolutions of the Parliament, they did not take advantage of the opportunity to convene an extraordinary session of the Parliament to discuss the resolutions in a timely manner. According to the Constitution, 38 votes of MPs are sufficient for that purpose, and the failure of the President to issue an act on convening an extraordinary session within 48 hours gives the Parliament the right to summon an extraordinary session.
- The parliamentary opposition did not either require the executive to use the mechanism of retrieving information in the parliamentary format in order to obtain additional information about the expected threats to the country, the steps and plans of the government to determine the course of the country.
We call on the parliamentary majority and the opposition:
- To actively hold meetings in a parliamentary format with members of the government and other executive officials to discuss impending threats, steps and plans of the government not only behind closed doors but also openly;
- The boycotting opposition must stop the protest and actively engage in parliamentary activities in order to enable the parliamentary opposition to fully use the parliamentary leverage available to it.