The Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE), a center-right European political family, said in its March 22 statement that it “appreciates” Georgia’s commitment to European values and “strongly believes” that the Government of Georgia “will continue to uphold media plurality and media freedom in the country.”
“We are closely observing the legal case of Georgian TV Company – Rustavi 2, which has been reviewed by all three instances of the Georgian courts and now it is pending a decision by the European Court of Human Rights,” ACRE said, referring to the ongoing ownership dispute over Rustavi 2 TV, Georgia’s most watched television channel.
“As the legal procedure is not over yet as ECHR deliberates on the case, any political commentary on the case would further politicize the matter,” the Alliance added.
“We would like to express our support for the democratization process taking place in Georgia. The Georgian government and the Georgian people have achieved significant success in terms of building democratic institutions, including in the areas of rule of law, media plurality and the judiciary,” ACRE also said.
The Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe was established in 2010 as a European network of conservative, center-right political parties, unifying 24 full member parties and three independent members from 20 countries today.
The Conservative Party of Georgia, which has a six-member faction within the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia parliamentary majority group, joined the Alliance in November, 2014.
The Alliance partners with various regional party networks, including the European Conservatives and Reformists group, the third largest group in the European Parliament.
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