“We have adopted significant legislative changes in various directions, amongst which I would single out projects adopted in the direction of institutional reform, which have returned institutional arrangements to the constitutional system enshrined in our Constitution and which had become rather eclectic through various amendments,” the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, stated at a Bureau meeting, where he summarised the work carried out during the autumn session.
According to him, the process of institutional arrangement has drawn closer to the constitutional arrangement, to the concept enshrined in the Constitution.
The Speaker of Parliament also spoke about changes adopted in the direction of strengthening Georgia’s democracy.
“The second direction is various legislative changes adopted in terms of strengthening Georgia’s democracy, particularly in the direction of protecting Georgia’s democracy from external interference. This year and during the autumn session, important decisions have been made in this regard,” Shalva Papuashvili stated.
He also drew attention to the new Election Code and noted that virtually no criticism had been expressed regarding the Code.
“We adopted a new Election Code, and the only discussion by certain groups concerned the issue of opening polling stations abroad. As time goes on, I believe it is becoming clear to everyone – not only in Georgia but across other countries and Europe as well – that there are persistent concerns about external interference in elections. Here, too, we see full support from our voters for Georgia to ensure that elections are conducted with democratic principles in mind, with maximum exclusion of external interference, and this decision contributes precisely to that. Once again, I want to emphasise that we have adopted a new Election Code, and beyond this, we haven’t heard any other critical remarks,” the Speaker of Parliament stated.
Shalva Papuashvili also spoke about the education reform package, which Parliament approved last week.
“Reform is ongoing work which will continue to require not only legislative intervention by the Parliament of Georgia to create the appropriate framework, but also the exercise of Parliament’s supervisory function so that the reform fully achieves the goals set out in higher and general education reform.
A truly historic process is currently underway, one that will fundamentally transform both general and higher education in Georgia and restore a sense of pride in the country’s own academic achievements. We must take pride in our higher education, just as previous generations did when they received rigorous university or school education. We can see how successful Georgian scientists and students have been in international competitions. In this regard, it is essential that we provide our citizens and children with opportunities, and that the state takes responsibility for ensuring the highest quality of general and higher education, so that Georgia remains competitive on the global stage,” stated Shalva Papuashvili.
According to his statement, amidst the turbulence the region has experienced over the past several years, Parliament has also played a crucial role in parliamentary diplomacy and foreign relations.
“I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has been involved in various delegations in carrying out parliamentary diplomacy and has represented the voice of Georgia’s Parliament in various organisations,” Shalva Papuashvili noted.
The Speaker of Parliament also spoke about the country’s economic achievements.
“We, as a nation, are concluding this year on a victorious note, marked by unprecedented economic growth for the region. For the first time in Georgia’s history, the gross domestic product per capita will surpass ten thousand dollars. Additionally, our economy will exceed 100 billion lari for the first time. In this regard, we stand out both through our annual economic growth figures and absolute results, both regionally and in comparison with candidate countries,” stated Shalva Papuashvili.
According to him, the country managed to achieve this success not through external support, but rather in most cases despite external obstructions.
“Everything was done to undermine Georgia’s economy, to undermine Georgia’s security and peace, to undermine democracy in Georgia. It’s a difficult period in the world. Unfortunately, friends are hard to find. For some reason, in this difficult situation, many have taken the opportunity to pursue a hostile policy towards Georgia, and we are engaged in overcoming our problems, which involves the challenges of occupation and the goal of ending occupation. On top of this, they add incitement towards aggravation, towards escalation, towards discord, towards everything that is the antonym of Europeanness, and they do this with the EU flag in hand,” the Speaker of Parliament stated.
In his assessment, it is a civilisational disgrace when you set fire to Georgia’s Parliament, attempt to violently storm the Presidential Palace, and throw Molotov cocktails with the EU flag in hand.
“All of this is happening today in Georgia only from those who hold the EU flag in their hands, and this is the EU’s civilisational disgrace, with which, regrettably, certain European powers today in Georgia identify themselves.
We are witnessing a growing trend, including the rise of patriotic forces across Europe, and we are confident that the minority governments currently pursuing their political agendas will listen to their own people. The wall of deafness between EU leadership, European bureaucrats, and the European peoples will eventually collapse.
Brussels bureaucracy will follow its people’s desire for Europe to once again be a space of peace and not a space of accelerated armament and preparation for the Third World War, for Europe to be a space of economic prosperity and not a space of economic decline, and for Europe to be a space founded on genuine European values and not a space for spreading invented ideologies within its own space and imposing them on other countries.
With these pre-New Year wishes, we enter the coming year, once again mobilised, relying on our country’s interests. What the Georgian people have known from their centuries-old history and what people now see is that national interest is the starting point for any decision.
This is how nations are built, how states are formed, and how unions will come into being when they are founded on national interests. I hope that every government listens to its own people. Our wish for other countries’ governments is that they follow Georgia’s example: listen to their citizens and act in their own national interests, rather than serving illusory, globalist, supranational goals that ultimately prove to be mere chimaeras, as easily altered by their architects as their geopolitical or political ambitions,” stated Shalva Papuashvili.
