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📍 Chairman of the parliamentary political group “European Socialists” Fridon Injia presented his proposals and recommendations at the meeting of the legal affairs committee of the parliament regarding the draft laws initiated by the ruling party, which envisages making changes to the “Law on Assemblies and Manifestations”, as well as to the “Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia”.
🔷 According to the chairman of the political group, the changes in the law are timely, however, it can be said that they are even late, because the presented changes do not completely and completely cover the problem that society is facing today. Therefore, a complex approach to the issue is necessary and important.
🔷 “Society needs peace and normal living conditions. That’s why I believe that with the presented changes, some step has been taken in this direction, but it would be correct if the approach to this problem was complex,” said Fridon Injia.
🔷 The chairman of the political group believes that the article on defamation should be reflected in the draft law, which is a big problem in today’s reality and the issue needs to be brought into a certain legal framework.
🔷 In addition, in the MP’s opinion, it is important to tighten the article in the law regarding the facts of insults to the representative of the law enforcement body, which has been very frequent in recent times and there is no proper response to it.
🔷 “I believe that the article regarding defamation should have been reflected in the presented bill. Also, the issue of insulting law enforcement officials should be tightened, because recently we have a lot of facts about it, and with rare exceptions, practically no one is punished for insulting a law enforcement official, which, in my opinion, is unacceptable, and I think that even one remark of a law enforcement officer to a citizen , should be enough. Therefore, I support the tightening of the law in this regard.” – noted Fridon Injia.
🔷 The chairman of the political group at the meeting of the committee focused on the external parameters of the building of the legislative body during working hours, on the facts of frequent actions, during which the participants of the action chant with whistles, percussion instruments, and megaphones, which interferes with the normal work of the parliament.
🔷 “You will agree with me, and we are witnesses, during working hours, during demonstrations on the outer perimeter of the parliament building, there is noise, shouting, whistling, at which time it is impossible for a normal organization to work normally. Therefore, this part should also be included in the law. According to the current law, a fine of 500 GEL is provided for violation of public order, while tens of millions are spent for similar actions and activities, and whoever violates the law does not pay even 500 GEL. I believe that 15 days of administrative detention, which is provided for by the current law, is not enough, which is not even used in practice. Therefore, I believe that a 500 GEL fine and up to 15 days of administrative imprisonment is inappropriately small for the committed action. The said action should entail imprisonment for at least 30 days.” – said Fridon Injia.
🔷 According to the deputy, it is also necessary to correctly define the concept of the organizers of the rally and to resolve this issue at the legislative level, because this issue is so vague that in today’s reality, it is practically impossible to determine who was the organizer of this or that rally.
🔷 According to the chairman of the political group, the legislative body should be focused on protecting the interests of the people.
🔷 “Again and again, based on the interests of the people, we must discuss and act, because people want peace, normal life and work. And we parliamentarians must do everything to establish order in the country. Therefore, there should be a complex approach to these issues. If we want to get things done and the work of the parliamentary body to be effective, immediate and productive, I believe that we should consider and solve this issue in a complex way.” – noted the deputy.

📍 Within the framework of the “Georgian Voice in the European Parliament” event, the chairman of the parliamentary political group and political party “European Socialists”, Fridon Injia, for the first time in the history of Georgia, made a statement in his native Georgian language from the high tribune in the European Parliament, where he voiced a fair voice about the current political events in Georgia.

📍 Fridon Injia’s speech from the high tribune of the European Parliament was translated into 5 languages.

🔴 “I am deeply convinced that if we take a pragmatic look at the achievements of our country and its geopolitical location, Georgia deserves to be granted the status of a candidate country of the European Union and, even more, membership”

🔴 “Please support the state of Georgia and the Georgian people in a timely manner, its aspiration – to join the big family of Europe”

🔷 “Welcome,

🔷 I would like to thank you for the invitation, for your hospitality and for this opportunity to introduce our vision of the political present of Georgia and state interests, which is directly related to the near and distant future of my country.

🔷 As you know, Georgia is an associate member country of the European Union, which includes legislative and legal harmonization with the European Union, as well as the main aspects of economic and political cooperation.

🔷 We adopted the European perspective last year, which was a historic decision, but we understand very well that the process of full membership in the European Union takes a lot of time.

🔷 It is for this purpose that the government of Georgia started working on the implementation of the 12-point recommendation, in connection with which the Parliament of Georgia, together with the government, did a great deal of work. Personally, together with my political group “European Socialists”, I was actively involved in the work of parliamentary working groups created in different directions.

🔷 It should be noted that, first of all, the state has shown a strong will to implement the recommendations of the European Commission by complying with its obligations. It was an absolutely transparent and inclusive process.

🔷 It should be emphasized that, unfortunately, the radical opposition did not participate in this process, despite the fact that all interested parties were invited to this process. Representatives of the radical opposition, namely Saakashvili’s political team and their political supporters both in Georgia and abroad, including in the European Parliament, prevented the implementation of this important work in every possible way.

🔷 Despite the facts of systematic sabotage and destruction on the part of the radical opposition, the Parliament did a great job – more than 100 legislative initiatives were adopted, new strategies and action plans were developed. All this serves, of course, further consolidation and development of democracy in the country, further strengthening of the rule of law and further strengthening of parliamentary supervision.

🔷 I am deeply convinced that most of the 12-point recommendations of the European Commission have been implemented, and only a few points are left with the technical part, which will be successfully implemented in the near future.

🔷 And as for the implementation of the recommendation on depolarization, this request is completely incomprehensible to me personally, because there is a constant political disagreement between the political forces in all countries of the world, starting from the United States of America and ending with the European Union. In general, we all understand very well that any democracy is characterized by different opinions.

🔷 The Parliament of Georgia is represented by a multi-party system. In 2020, 9 parties and political forces entered the parliament. Freedom of expression and media pluralism are quite high in the country.

🔷 During the last one year, after these recommendations were defined, polarization and opposition in society in our country did not decrease, but on the contrary, it increased, because the radical forces operating in Georgia, namely Saakashvili’s party and its satellite political groups, as well as the so-called non-governmental Organizations are using this issue as a speculation to destabilize the country, so that Georgia does not receive the status of a candidate for the European Union.

🔷 Here I would like to emphasize the main goal and task of the radical opposition, which demands the release of the convicted Saakashvili from prison as a counterbalance to the granting of candidate status, whose many crimes have been confirmed both by the Georgian judicial system and the International Court of Strasbourg.

🔷 It should be noted that practically, every day, new facts prove that Saakashvili and his team squandered tens of millions of state resources from the state budget and used them for personal purposes.

🔷 Recently, flights for entertainment and personal purposes to the world’s most expensive resorts have been revealed, and how amazing

It should be also, facts confirm that Saakashvili even visited the grave of Colombian drug lord and narco-terrorist Pablo Escobar during his presidency.

🔷 The question is whether it is consistent with European standards to intervene rudely in the internal affairs of another state and demand the release of a similar type of criminal like Saakashvili and hinder the European integration of the country on this basis.

🔷 Georgia, due to the most difficult geopolitical situation in the world and in the region, achieved the main goal – maintaining peace in the country, which led to the economic progress of the state, but was unable to restore territorial integrity, which is the most important thing for Georgia.

🔷 At the same time, the country was able to carry out reforms. If it were not for these reforms and the correct foreign policy, the country would not have an economic growth rate of more than 7%, which cannot be said about many advanced and developed countries in the world.

🔷 I am deeply convinced that if we take a pragmatic look at our country’s achievements and geopolitical location, Georgia deserves to be given the status of a candidate country of the European Union, and more, even membership. However, we all know that this issue is political, which is evidenced by granting the status of a candidate for the European Union to Moldova, a member of the CIS. The country over which Georgia is superior in all parameters, then and even today.

🔷 Therefore, a political decision is acceptable so that the country does not remain disappointed. Please support the state of Georgia and the Georgian people in time, its aspiration – in the big family of Europe, by granting the candidate status, which will be beneficial for the European Union today, both from the economic and political point of view.

🔷 In particular, I would like to emphasize that today Georgia is the main axis of political stability in the South Caucasus region, as well as an economic, transport, transit, energy and trade hub connecting Europe and Asia.

🔷 First of all, this decision will be the most important for Georgia, on the way to restore the territorial integrity of the country, 20% of whose territories are still occupied.

🔷 Let justice be restored, support us, the country with the history and culture that we are. Trust me, our acceptance will enrich and strengthen the European Union in many ways. Otherwise, we will be forced to look for other ways to decently achieve the state and strategic goals of the country.”

🔷 Thank you very much

🔷 of the parliamentary political group “European Socialists”

🔷 and chairman of the political party “European Socialists”.

🔷 Freedon is an engineer

Brussels

28.09.2023

📍 The chairman of the parliamentary political group and the political party “European Socialists” Fridon Injia is holding high-level meetings in Brussels at the European Parliament at the invitation of Mick WALLACE and Clare DALY, MEPs from Ireland, who represent the left wing in the European Parliament.

🔷 The main topic of the meeting was granting Georgia the status of a candidate country of the European Union, current political events and deepening of mutual cooperation and partnership relations between the two political powers.

🔷 At the meeting, the parties agreed on close and comprehensive long-term mutual cooperation.

🔷”We had very interesting meetings with our partners from the European Parliament.
It is very important to share the concept and approach on the part of the governing circles of the European Union, which Mick Wallace and Claire Daley MEPs are talking about. Their ideas are the future. In particular, the majority of the European Parliament should have an unbiased and objective approach to the countries that aspire to the EU membership and also to the evaluation of the current political events in these countries. Among them, of course, in relation to Georgia. In this way, Europe and the European Union will maintain the main principle, which is the development of democracy, protection of human rights, provision of welfare and implementation of social justice. Otherwise, the difficult situation in Europe will deepen”, said Fridon Injia after the meeting.

🔷 On the other hand, Claire Daly said that she is happy to host a delegation of Georgian colleagues in the European Parliament in Brussels, which allows them to hear and understand the voice of Georgia.

🔷 “We exchanged views on current political processes, which is very important in the way of mutual cooperation. Within the framework of the visit, we have planned interesting events, which will allow more members of the European Parliament to understand objective and correct information about current political processes in Georgia, which should be the basis for conducting joint work from Europe to the world,” said Claire Daly.

🔷 According to Mick Wallace, many people in Georgia are interested in the concept of the European Union and it is important that the European Union gives people a way to express their opinion in this process.

🔷 “We know that people want to have a choice, and the European Union should do so that the Georgian people are not deprived of their right to vote and choose,” said Mick Wallace.

🔷 According to Giorgi Maglakelidze, a member of the political council of the political party “European Socialists”, “the fact that Georgia’s problems are heard in the European Parliament is the most important thing”.

🔷 “The fact that the voice of Georgia’s problems is heard in the European Parliament is unimportant. All the more so when MEPs and important people like Claire Daly and Mick Wallace talk about it. Therefore, their fair voice about Georgia is highly appreciated.” Giorgi Maglakelidze said.

🔷 Within the framework of the visit, a conference – round table “Voice of Georgia” is planned, where a discussion will be held with the participation of deputies of various political groups of the European Parliament regarding the current political situation in Georgia and the challenges on the way to European integration.

📍 “When carrying out the construction of the port of Anaklia, the clear task and the main postulate should be to get the maximum and stable profit for the state over the years, and there should not be any politics here.”

🔷 Chairman of the parliamentary political group “European Socialists” Fridon Injia stated this at the plenary session of the Parliament, where the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili was heard on the issue of the construction of the port of Anaklia.

🔷 The chairman of the political group positively evaluated the decision made by the country’s government a few months ago, according to which the state became the owner of the control package of a number of strategically important objects, and Anaklia port is among them.

🔷 “I believe that it is necessary to invite the minister on such issues and this is a step forward on the way of democratic development of our country. Ultimately, as a result of this process, you will make adjustments to the project and the legislature will be aware of it.

🔷 I cannot tell you what happened and why the construction of Anaklia port was delayed in previous years, but I consider the decision of the Georgian government to become the owner of the control package of strategically important objects a great achievement.

🔷 This is the participation of the state in strategic infrastructure, and as it happened, the state decided to have a control package in such strategic infrastructure as Hudon Hess or others, including the port of Anaklia. This is a great achievement.

🔷Our party “European Socialists” has been talking about this in practically every speech for almost three years. It would be welcome if the state always had such an approach to objects of strategic importance. Then, the country will take a completely different look and develop differently.

🔷 I think that during the implementation of the project, the clear task and the main postulate should be the maximum and stable profit for years, and there should not be any politics here. – said the MP.

🔷 As for the fact that the state has lost profit due to the delay in the construction of the project for years, according to the deputy, with the policy that the country’s government is doing now, which involves the transfer of 51% of the control package to the state, this loss will be compensated by this.

🔷 The deputy believes that the minimization of operational costs should be taken into account during the implementation of the project.

🔷 “If, for example, a Chinese company won the tender, I don’t see a problem here. It is very important that the Georgian government signed an agreement with China as a strategic partner, because for years, Chinese investment in Georgia was blocked. It was not allowed. I don’t know how you got this permission, but it is the most important thing. Practically, the implementation of Chinese and Iranian investments in Georgia was prohibited.

🔷 If we act in the interests of the country and want the living conditions of our population to improve and the standard of living to rise, then the government should do everything to implement these investments. In such a case, the population of the country will not go to a foreign country, and on the contrary, the emigrants will return to their homeland.

🔷 Therefore, you should be guided by the first postulate, which I focused on in the chapter – getting the maximum and stable profit from this project”. – noted the MP.

🔷 The chairman of the political group believes that in the implementation of the project, an important role is played by increasing the cargo turnover. All the more so if we take into account that there is not much cargo turnover in the ports operating in the country today.

🔷 “During the construction of the port of Anaklia, we must take into account the increase in cargo turnover and its cargo provision. Therefore, it would be desirable for the party participating in 49% of the control package to be involved in the haulage. And if that 49% is managed by a Swiss company, or if you want an Austrian company, it will not be able to load the port. And if, for example, it will be the Chinese side, whether you want the Kazakh side, or a representative of an Asian country, then this will somehow allow us to talk to them about increasing the cargo turnover, otherwise, it will be a futile activity,” said the MP.

🔷 Fridon Injia, in his speech regarding the construction of the port of Anaklia, focused on the smooth operation of the transport infrastructure and noted that this is one of the most important factors for the implementation of this project.

🔷 “Another important issue, in order to attract cargo, proper operation of the transport infrastructure is needed, and first of all, it is the railway. It is important that the railway or transport infrastructure is in order. Because on the one hand, we build a port and there is ready cargo from there, but it cannot go to the destination because of bad infrastructure, this is not allowed and therefore it is important in this factor itselfsaid the chairman of the political group.

📍 Fridon Injia addressed several initiatives to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth

🔷 Chairman of the parliamentary political group “European Socialists” Fridon Injia addressed the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia Tea Tsulukiani with several initiatives and questions in the format of “Minister’s Hour” held in the Parliament.

🔷 As the deputy noted, despite the fact that Georgia is a small country, being the Minister of Sports and Culture of this small country is a great responsibility and, at the same time, a great pride, because Georgians are creative people.

🔷 “You are doing it decently. You don’t lack strictness, but I would like you to be stricter because people like strictness more,” said Fridon Injia.

🔷 According to him, the country has many successful and prominent athletes, and it will be a great incentive for them if they are presented with honorary orders or medals by the minister, which will be another manifestation of appreciation of the merits and work of these famous athletes.
In addition, the deputy believes that there should be a sports channel in the Georgian television space, which will broadcast 24 hours a day, and it would be good if this channel was created under the auspices of the Ministry.

🔷 Fridon Injia also spoke about the Georgian cultural heritage and noted that the Abedati fortress, which is located in the Martvil municipality and dates back to the IV-V centuries, needs rehabilitation.

🔷 “Due to the fact that it is possible to mobilize more funds in the budget than was planned, will it be possible, as an exception, to rehabilitate this monument”, said Fridon Injia.

🔷 As the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Thea Tsulukiani noted in response, a special group of the National Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage will study the rehabilitation needs of the Abedati fortress on the spot, and after that it will be determined what the ministry will be able to do in the future.