Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze commented on the critical resolution of the European Parliament adopted the day before, calling on the EU to impose sanctions and other restrictive measures against Tbilisi.
"This is another, if I am not mistaken, the seventh, absolutely shameful resolution of the European Parliament. This is not only a shameful act of the European Parliament, I think that the entire European bureaucracy should be held responsible for this," the politician said.
According to him, the West "blackmails the Georgian people by not returning the collective "National Movement" to power."
Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili reacted similarly to the adoption of the new resolution by the EP.
"Confusion of values is all we need to know about the current situation in Brussels," he wrote on his Facebook page
In addition, the National Bank of Georgia, in response to the sanctions proposed by the European Parliament resolution, stated that there are no grounds for disconnecting the country from the international financial system SWIFT. The regulator explains that the banking and financial sector of Georgia strictly complies with both domestic legislation and international sanctions regimes.
"The level of compliance of the financial sector with international standards for the prevention of money laundering remains high, which is confirmed by the assessments of the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe (MONEYVAL). The efforts of the National Bank to align the financial system and legislation with European regulations also deserve permanent positive assessments," the National Bank reported.
In the new resolution, the European Parliament called, among other restrictions, for measures to be taken to disconnect from the SWIFT system and/or sectoral sanctions in order to stop financial flows and sources of income for the regime of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
On July 9, the European Parliament adopted another resolution on Georgia, condemning the persecution of oppositionists and recognizing Zurabishvili as president. In particular, the document "strongly condemns the arrest of Zurab Girchi Japaridze, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, Giorgi Vashadze, Nika Melia, Nika Gvaramia and other opposition politicians." In addition, the European Parliament again demanded "the immediate release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds so that he can receive the necessary medical care abroad." Earlier, official Tbilisi stated that all EP resolutions on Georgia are dictated by the interests of the so-called Deep State - a shadow network of influence. The European Parliament rapporteur on Georgia, Rasa Jukneviciene, is called an "infection" in the ruling party.
