STRASBOURG, October 1 (RIA Novosti), Daria Chernyshova – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has welcomed the progress Georgia has made in its democratic development and pointed out the issues it yet needs to tackle to become a mature democracy, the report presented at the assembly's sitting by co-rapporteurs Boriss Cilevics from Latvia and Michael Aastrup Jensen from Denmark said.
"The [monitoring] committee welcomes the comprehensive reforms announced by the Georgian authorities, including constitutional reform, to further strengthen the democratic institutions in the country and to ensure a genuinely independent judiciary and adversarial justice system. Georgia has made marked progress in its democratic development over recent years. It is now important for it to overcome the antagonism, polarization and sense of revenge that are still present in the political environment and for political stakeholders to contribute constructively to the further democratic consolidation of the country," the report and draft resolution said.
"The emergence of a strong and experienced opposition, combined with a well-organized ruling coalition, has strengthened the role of the parliament and parliamentarianism in the political system in Georgia," the report noted.
"Georgia did not fulfill its obligations with regard to independent media, the establishment of public television, intolerance toward religious, sexual, national minorities," Cilevic said.
During the sitting, European parliamentarians noted that the country has made huge progress with regard to democratization, yet it has a long way to go. They said that the process of democratization in the country has stalled. Georgian representatives said that the main focus in the country is now on human rights.
The resolution based on the report is expected to be adopted at the sitting.
The assembly’s autumn session takes place in Strasbourg from September 29 to October 3, 2014.
