The European Union is closely monitoring the lawsuits seeking to ban five major opposition parties—including, of course, recent developments within the Constitutional Court of Georgia regarding this matter. This was stated today by European Commission Spokesperson Christian Wigand during a briefing, in response to a question from "Euroscope" concerning the upcoming Constitutional Court hearings on the potential banning of opposition parties.

"These developments, taken together with recent legislative changes and earlier statements regarding the banning of opposition parties, point to a concerning instrumentalization of the judicial system. This poses a threat to fundamental freedoms, democratic pluralism, and fair political competition. Therefore, we are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to follow these proceedings," the spokesperson noted. Additionally, the spokesperson responded to a question regarding the imposition of a 30-day detention sentence on journalist Vakho Sanaia.

"We are very vocal in expressing our position regarding the actions of 'Georgian Dream,' which are aimed at suppressing the political opposition, journalists, and activists. Unfortunately, they continue to restrict civic space. The Georgian authorities must immediately release the unjustly detained politicians, journalists, and activists, and repeal repressive legislation," the European Commission Spokesperson noted.

For context, the review of a constitutional claim filed by 88 members of the Parliament of Georgia—which concerns the constitutionality of the activities of the political parties "Unity – National Movement," "Coalition for Change (Gvaramia, Melia, Girchi, Droa)," "Strong Georgia (Lelo, For the People, For Freedom!)," the "Federalist Party," and "Gakharia for Georgia," as well as the question of their potential prohibition—is set to begin on October 21. As for journalist Vakho Sanaia, Judge Tornike Kochkiani sentenced him to 30 days of administrative detention. The journalist was arrested near his home. The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused Sanaia of insulting political officials in three posts published on social media.