Georgia’s ruling party moves to impeach president over EU trips: Report

Georgia’s ruling party said Friday it began impeachment proceedings against the country’s president, Salome Zourabichvili.

The party is accusing the president of violating the constitution by visiting foreign countries in the EU without the government’s approval, Georgian news agency InterPressNews reported, citing Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the governing Georgian Dream party.

“The government of Georgia has the goal of strengthening the state, including the goal of strengthening its foreign positions,” Kobakhidze said. “We see that Salome Zurabishvili is acting with opposite interests.”

Georgia, which applied for EU membership after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, has seen rocky progress toward that goal, amid fears the country under the Georgian Dream party is seeking closer economic relations with Russia. Brussels has warned the administration in Tbilisi about “setbacks” in upholding the rule of law and human rights in the country.

In 2022, the EU stopped short of granting Georgia candidate status. Instead, it laid out a package of 12 recommendations for reforms the country needs to fulfill to be granted candidacy.

According to Kobakhidze, Zourabichvili’s visits to the EU are counterproductive for Georgia’s chances to achieve candidate status. The president’s behavior “directly opposes the efforts of the Georgian government to receive the said status,” he said.

“Therefore, the refusal of the Georgian government regarding the European tour planned by the president was justified both from the legal and political point of view,” said Kobakhidze, who believes Georgia currently deserves candidate status.  

Kobakhidze acknowledged that a successful impeachment is unlikely, as it would require the support of 100 MPs, including those of the opposition. But Georgian Dream decided to move forward and start collecting signatures of the members of the parliamentary majority.

Zourabichvili was elected to the largely ceremonial role in 2018 after campaigning as an independent. Since then, she has been at odds with the ruling party on a number of issues, expressing concern over its growing ties with Russia.