Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-04-Speech-3-560-000"
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"en.20120704.31.3-560-000"2
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"Mr President, I believe that it is necessary to assist all of these countries in the Eastern Neighbourhood Policy, so that the relevant rules are upheld in relation to democracy, the rule of law, fair elections, etc. I believe that this is necessary in the context of our neighbourhood policy and the assistance we can offer, as well as in cooperation with the Council of Europe and the OSCE. That is why I welcome the fact that the Georgian Government has invited us to send as many election observers as we like for as long as we like, so that it really will be possible to check that procedure is adhered to.
I consider this to be a relatively positive development. While hooligans may find themselves imprisoned for 45 days in Georgia, a similar misdemeanour may be punished with seven years in jail in Ukraine, a fact that underlines the differences between these countries. We must, however, ensure that freedom of assembly is upheld, that free elections are guaranteed and that independent media are permitted. When I note that there are several different television companies in the country and that it was possible to pass a carry-all law on 29 June, then I realise that we have a better situation in Georgia than in most countries and greater differentiation than in some European countries, including some Member States of the European Union.
However, when I witness television sets being distributed alongside campaign shirts in support of the party of the wealthy Ivanishvili, as a kind of party funding exercise, all the rules for party funding being broken, a lack of transparency in relation to private funding from a person who earned EUR 6 billion in Russia, then I start to become a little sceptical and to wonder whether we need to investigate both sides to ensure that all the rules have been obeyed. When I see evidence that votes are being bought, when I see that the opposition clearly has 20 times more money at its disposal in this election campaign than the governing party, then it seems necessary to me to perform a thorough examination that also involves the opposition, so that we achieve a fair assessment.
I do not believe that the use of 18 consultancies, most of them following the American model, should influence how we decide on European neighbourhood policy."@en1
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