The Social Justice Center is extremely critical of the government's blatant refusal to fulfil its international obligations and believes that these decisions are fundamentally detrimental to the process of the country's democratic development and European integration.

Recent decisions made by the government, expressed in its withdrawal from the agreement previously reached on April 19, 2021 through the active moderation and support of the European Union and other international partners, its failure to reform the judicial system and its politically motivated refusal to grant preferential macro-financial assistance to the country, carry extremely disturbing indications of the country's geopolitical isolation and undemocratic system of government.

On August 31, Prime Minister Gharibashvili declared that the government intended to refrain from receiving the second tranche of EU macro-financial assistance, amounting to 75 million euros, aimed at helping the population cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. Irakli Gharibashvili justifies the decision based on the higher-than-planned rate of economic growth in recent months, as well as the government's plan to reduce the volume of the country's foreign debt.

The Prime Minister and other leaders of the ruling political team deliberately disguised the political motivations behind their statements, which dominate this decision far more than the expressed economic motivations. The EU soft loan is a conditional financial support linked to the substantive and ambitious reform of the judiciary system, and its second tranche was linked to the fulfilment of this commitment. According to official information released by the European Union on 31 August 2021, the Georgian government has failed to increase the independence, accountability and quality of the judiciary, and therefore has failed to meet its macro-financial assistance requirements. It seems that Georgian Dream deliberately made their statement refusing further financial support from the EU a few days before the European Union was itself going to make an official statement about it.

The Georgian Dream government made a decision on this important issue solely in the interests of the party without any consultation with political and civic representatives.

It is worth noting that the decision of August 31 was sharply criticized by EU representatives regarding its clear indication of the visions and interests of the Georgian government’s foreign policy. Viola Von Cramon, a member of the European Parliament noted in her TV interview that “by today's decision, the government has indicated that it couldn’t care less whether Georgia joins the EU or not. The fact that Michel's document was signed twice in April and on both occasions, they have neglected it, I see no interest on the part of the Georgian government in becoming a member of the EU. I see no interest on their part in applying for EU membership”. Another critical statement also came from Andrius Kubilius, another member of the EU parliament: “The ruling party is about to lose the trust of the European states and partners, because the fulfilment of the reform of the judicial system is under question. There is no evidence that democracy has matured in Georgia and we are very concerned about it within the EU. I, nevertheless, trust the Georgian people, who are very pro-European. The government fails to pursue the path of its nation, which is trying to reach out to the European Union”.

Financial cooperation with the EU carries an essentially political dimension and content along with the economic dimension, whereas the open and blatant violation of the agreements and conditions agreed with the EU by Georgian Dream is irreparably damaging the process of the country's Europeanization, its political stability and the prospect for democratic development.

Reforms in the judicial system in recent years have proved ineffective in addressing the problems of a clan-based, politically subjugated judiciary. Judicial reform is a direct means of democratic control and of the protection of human rights across the different branches of government, and within the context of a sharp consolidation of power by Georgian Dream, the rejection of this reform merely demonstrates a strong interest in maintaining power. The steps taken by the government's fictitious reform have been negatively assessed by all independent representatives at the local and international levels. The problems in the courts today are unanimously recognized by local and international partners as one of the main obstacles to the democratic development of the country. This is confirmed by the fact that the April 19 agreement emphasized the need for an ambitious reform of the judicial system.

Clearly, steps taken towards reducing foreign debt are a valuable process, and we generally welcome such steps. However, in the present case, the government's action on the basis of this purported economic interest seems questionable, unfounded and unreliable. During the rule of Georgian Dream, the level of foreign debt has increased radically. In 2014, the ratio of the country's external debt to GDP was about 24.6%, in 2018 - 34.2%, in 2019 - 42.6%, and in 2020 it approached 58%. If we measure the average amount of foreign debt from the perspective of the amount per citizen, it has also sharply increased. In 2014, the average share of foreign debt per citizen was 2800 GEL. In 2019, this figure almost doubled to about 5600 GEL. In 2020, this figure increased to 7400 GEL. Steps to reduce the external debt require fundamental economic and financial reforms by the government. However, the government has not provided a rationale, based on evidence, data and financial forecasts, to explain any economic justification for its refusal of the EU macro-financial support, nor has it taken into account any possible future economic and financial consequences of this refusal. In the light of the scale and disaster of the pandemic, when it is evident that the healthcare system is failing to provide the necessary infrastructure and resources to manage critically ill patients, the refusal to provide direct support in this regard seems even more unclear.

In view of all the above, the Social Justice Center believes that the recent decisions have severely damaged the process of the country's democratic development, European integration and political stability, and that irresponsible decisions by the government are a significant blow to the country's national interests and well-being.

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