TBILISI, November 17 – The European Union has approved a major overhaul of its visa-free suspension rules, giving Brussels new powers to halt visa-free travel for citizens of third countries more quickly and for longer periods when EU interests are at risk. The European Council announced Monday that member states had given their final political … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party on Monday dismissed renewed opposition talk of forming a “technical government”, while former president Salome Zourabichvili accused the authorities of dragging the country toward isolation. The clash began when Georgian Dream MP Tengiz Sharmanashvili ridiculed opposition calls for a temporary, non-partisan cabinet to oversee a political … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – Georgia’s ruling party has launched a full rewrite of the country’s election code in a move that could reshape how millions of citizens cast their votes. The biggest change would require Georgian voters living abroad to travel back to Georgia in order to vote in parliamentary elections. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili has been moved out of a private clinic and back into Rustavi prison in a late night transfer which caused political controversy. The penitentiary service and the Ministry of Health say Saakashvili no longer needs hospital care. Saakashvili, his lawyers, and his family insist that he … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – A court in Georgia has ordered the pre-trial detention of former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, escalating a political and legal drama that now spans two major criminal cases and a bitter war of words between the former leader and the ruling party. The ruling came Thursday in Tbilisi City Court. Judge … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – As Georgia’s ruling party insists that no genuine protest movement exists in the country, claiming only small foreign-funded groups gather on Rustaveli Avenue each evening, analysts and opposition figures are debating whether the public mood could soon shift toward wider unrest. Over a year has passed sine a disputed election triggered … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – Tbilisi city authorities have torn down illegal buildings in the capital’s Samgori district, freeing up more than 14 hectares of occupied public property. According to the city government, the municipal inspection carried out coordinated enforcement actions aimed at stopping unauthorized construction and preventing further illegal use of state and municipal land. … Read more
TBILISI, November 11 – Georgia’s jailed opposition activist and opera singer Paata Burchuladze has accused former president Salome Zourabichvili of making a “shameful” statement about the October 4 events in Tbilisi, which she described as a Russian special operation. Speaking through his lawyer, Burchuladze said Zourabichvili should have exercised restraint and avoided making comments that … Read more
TBILISI, November 11 – Prosecutors in Georgia have filed criminal charges against five people over the collapse of a major bridge that is part of the East-West corridor and one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects, BPN reports. Among those charged is former Deputy Head of the Roads Department Levan Kupatashvili, accused of abuse of … Read more
TBILISI, November 11 – Georgia’s government announced plans on Tuesday to reform how it buys goods and services, in what officials call a major step toward increasing transparency and limiting corruption risks in public spending, BM reports. The reform centers on a new electronic system for “market research,” the stage where government agencies estimate the … Read more