EU considers suspending visa-free entry for Georgians
TBILISI, DFWatch--When foreign ministers from EU member countries meet in Luxembourg on Monday, three of the topics on their agenda are about Georgia: the rise in anti-EU disinformation, possible sanctions over alleged human rights violations, and whether to suspend Georgia’s visa-waiver program to the Schengen Area. Georgia has enjoyed visa-free travel to the EU since March 2017. However, concerns about democratic backsliding and government rhetoric [...]
Georgia’s ruling party says opposition participation ‘irrelevant’ ahead of local elections
GD lawmaker said it is irrelevant whether the opposition participates in the elections. TBILISI, DFWatch--As Georgia prepares to hold local elections in October, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party says it expects a decisive win [...]
News
Parliament commission to investigative UNM crimes seeks extension ahead of damning report
TBILISI, DFWatch--A temporary investigative commission in Georgia’s parliament is seeking to extend its mandate by one month, in order to complete a report expected to paint a detrimental picture of the former government's abuse of [...]
Award-winning editor fined for placing protest sticker on police building
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--In Batumi, on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, journalist and co‑founder of outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, Mzia Amaghlobeli, was fined 1,000 GEL (USD 365) for placing a protest sticker outside the regional police headquarters. The [...]
Global tensions create uncertainty for Georgia’s economy
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia’s economy is beginning to feel the effects of growing global instability, as analysts warn of a potential inflation risk and call for caution in the monetary policy. The National Bank decided at [...]
Georgia to put ex-PM and opposition figure on trial ahead of elections
Giorgi Gakharia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgian prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation targeting former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia over a controversial 2019 security incident near the breakaway region of South Ossetia—a dramatic development ahead of the [...]
Joint opposition platform proposed for Tbilisi in local elections
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Mamuka Khazaradze, founder of the opposition party Lelo, calls for a unified opposition front in the upcoming local elections in the capital, Tbilisi, aiming to challenge the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. A [...]
Librarians on strike in Kutaisi
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Employees at the Ilia Chavchavadze Scientific Library in Kutaisi have gone on strike. According to the library’s director, Nargiza Chogovadze, around 80 staff members are currently participating in the strike, with a single [...]
‘No basis’ for halting Georgia’s visa-waiver program – EU to consider drastic escalation with Tbilisi on 23 June
Shalva Papuashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council will meet on June 23, and the political situation in Georgia is one of the items on the agenda. Ahead of the meeting, some European [...]
Georgia’s former PM, leader of opposition party, called to testify at parliamentary committee
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has been summoned a second time to testify before Georgia’s parliamentary investigative commission. The commission is examining decisions surrounding the establishment of a Georgian police outpost near the [...]
Trump sends senior U.S. official to meet Georgian foreign minister, signaling diplomatic thaw
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili met with Wyatt Toehlke, senior advisor to the U.S. State Department, in what observers see as a clear step toward improved relations. The meeting, which was confirmed by [...]
Georgia: How to Be Rational and Coherent in That Disbalanced World? – A Conversation with Professor Neil Macfarlane
Tedo Japaridze I acquainted with Neil Macfarlane since the last century: it was 1990 when we met each other for the first time at some round table held by the Georgian MFA to discuss the [...]
Europe and Georgia
EU considers suspending visa-free entry for Georgians
TBILISI, DFWatch--When foreign ministers from EU member countries meet in Luxembourg on Monday, three of the topics on their agenda are about Georgia: the rise in [...]
Opinion
Minorities
Georgian Dream is preparing a bill against “ideology of pseudo-liberals” and “wilful propaganda of non-traditional lifestyle”
TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgian Dream is in the process of preparing a legislative initiative to "protect society from pseudo-liberal ideology" and its inevitable harmful consequences." The country may face such a situation when "we will be asked [...]
NGO News
Georgian NGOs, media snub foreign agent law, suspend cooperation with government
Tbilisi, DFWatch-Over a hundred non-governmental and media organizations declare their open disobedience to the foreign influence draft law initiated by the Georgian authorities and suspend all cooperation with the government [...]
GD and far-right Conservative Movement lead: TI report on party donations
The Conservative Movement, a far-right pro-Russian political party notorious for violence against LGBTQ activists and journalists, was second only to the ruling Georgian Dream in the last quarter of 2022 [...]
Civic groups in Georgia campaign to help Ukrainian refugees left out in the street
(Razom.ge) Georgian civic groups and activists have launched a fundraising campaign to provide temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees who were left out in the street after the end of state [...]