EU Office: Pluralistic Political Media Landscape Essential for Georgian Democracy

The local EU office in Tbilisi has issued a statement agreeing with the Head of Mission of the EU Member States in Georgia.

According to the statement, published on October 26th, the EU is closely following developments concerning the media environment in Georgia. It states:

“As we implement the Association Agreement, we have increased our support to Georgia, but also our scrutiny. At this stage, it is important to build on the reforms achieved so far and ensure fully functioning democratic institutions. A pluralistic political and media landscape is an essential component of Georgia's democracy and its European choice”

An EU representative stated that while they wish to refrain from commenting on the merits of individual court cases, they have concerns that need to be addressed and they expect the principals of the rule of law, independence of judiciary and media freedom to be applied in Georgia at this crucial time.

They said “The limitation or the disruption of an important media outlet would have the potential to weaken the democratic process, including the conduct of the elections scheduled for October 2016.”

The announcement also cites that the EU shares and supports the goal of the government to continue with reforms and to achieve free and orderly elections.

The statement continued: “We trust that the government will treat this as an absolute priority throughout the forthcoming year. Proper access of all democratic political forces to the media is an essential precondition for democratic elections.”