No Answers from Ivanishvili to Questions of Štefan Füle

Štefan Füle, former European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, participated in an international conference named “Europe's New Geopolitical Landscape” organized by the Georgian government in Tbilisi this week.

At the conference hosted by Rooms Hotel, the former EU official emphasized that he asked the former Prime Minister [Bidzina Ivanishvili] three questions, but got no answers concerning the issues of informal governance and arrests of political opponents. "I have been asking similar questions in all partner countries. These questions are: “Can you breathe freely?", or “Do you have space for working?" This is the best way to evaluate progress,” Füle underlined.

"The problem is not that the questions are constantly asked; the problem is that they are not answered by all members of the Georgian Dream coalition as openly and honestly as you did [referring to David Usupashvili]. This is what I always focus on,” he cited.

Füle believes people must be judged in accordance with the European standards. “We have talked much about politically motivated cases in Brussels and Strasbourg. This does not mean that someone is above the law, but at the same time, we say that formally people must be judged in accordance with the European standards, if you really are committed to European aspirations,”

The international conference “Europe's New Geopolitical Landscape - Security, Economic Opportunities, Freedom and Human Dignity in the Frontline Countries" began yesterday.