According to Davit Bakradze, members of the United National Movement have been holding meetings in the European Parliament for months in an effort to prevent Georgia from obtaining a visa-free regime with the European Union

According to Davit Bakradze, Georgia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, members of the United National Movement held meetings in the European Parliament for months in an effort to prevent Georgia from obtaining a visa-free regime with the European Union.

As Bakradze stated during a live address to the Georgian Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission, the United National Movement’s struggle against its political opponents has, to some extent, turned into a struggle against the state and its own people.

"It became clear that members of the opposition United National Movement had been lobbying for months during meetings to block Georgia from being granted a visa-free regime. At all of these meetings — whether with MEPs, commission representatives, or experts — the consistent reaction was one of confusion and disbelief. Everyone questioned how a leading opposition party, which had publicly declared its support for pro-European development, could undermine such a crucial issue for the country’s citizens — visa-free travel with the EU — for political gain.

Political rivalry is entirely understandable to European politicians and diplomats; it is a natural process. In institutional democracies, the opposition is seen as an integral part of governance, playing an important role in national development priorities. European integration is clearly the geopolitical choice of our people.

Yet many could not hide their astonishment and frustration that the opposition’s fight against the government — their political opponents — had, in effect, become a fight against the state and its own people,” Bakradze said.

According to him, the initiative to postpone Georgia's visa-free travel was put forward by the European People’s Party, a partner of the United National Movement. At the time, the party's president, Joseph Daul, even visited imprisoned former government officials Gigi Ugulava, Vano Merabishvili, and Bacho Akhalaia.

“During that period, Daul met with convicted individuals — Merabishvili, Akhalaia, and Ugulava — as well as holding meetings with the United National Movement. This all happened at a time when visa liberalization for our people with the EU was hanging in the balance.

Part of the decision process involved the European Parliament — that is, politicians. What we see behind those actions was a desire to support a partner party and to ensure that the government’s efforts would not result in success, thereby preventing the ruling party from gaining political strength as a result,” Bakradze concluded.