The Georgian government and Georgian society have united around the European future of the country and obtaining the status of a candidate country in the EU, unlike the radical opposition, Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Archil Talakvadze said in response to a statement by a representative of the US State Department.

According to the statements of the representative of the US State Department Vedant Patel, it is clearly visible that the Georgian people see themselves together with Europe. The representative of the State Department calls on the government and all parties to work on the implementation of the necessary reforms to achieve the status of a candidate in the EU. The need for a united Georgia has never been so acute, Patel stressed.

"In fact, we and our society are united around the European future of Georgia. Those who remain against all this are the radical opposition, which has not joined the working process, travels to Europe and lobbies so that the country does not receive the status (of an EU candidate – ed.)", Talakvadze said.

According to him, thanks to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in the United States, it turned out that the radical opposition is spending millions of dollars to convince the West that Georgia has left the European orbit.

"Millions of dollars have been spent to harm Georgia's image, to make the West think that Georgia has left the European orbit and no longer agrees with the European spiritual aspiration", Talakvadze said.

The US Department of Justice has released data on the work of lobbying companies hired by the Saakashvili family, including campaigning for sanctions against Georgia, draft resolutions of the European Parliament, a visit by Polish doctors that turned into a scandal, and more. According to the US Department of Justice, Saakashvili and his mother Giuli Alasania hired two companies – Akerman and GP International. The report concerns their activities for six months.

In addition, the day before, the US Department of Justice released data on the work of the American lobbying company Cornerstone Government Affairs, hired by the Formula TV channel, whose founder is former Georgian Defense Minister David Kezerashvili. The ruling party has long claimed that Kezerashvili is financing the "National Movement", noting that this weighty politician of the presidency of Mikhail Saakashvili is now an oligarch.

The opposition TV channel Formula has signed a contract with the American lobbying company Cornerstone Government Affairs in the amount of 420 thousand dollars.

According to documents released by the US Department of Justice, the company has been actively lobbying Formula TV channel since May 2023 and has provided information about current events in Georgia to representatives of the US Congress and executive authorities, American media, analytical centers and other organizations.

The report refers to the lobbying group's ties with Azerbaijani journalist Alex Raufoglu, who lives in the United States, who is distinguished by critical statements against Georgia during briefings by the US State Department.

In June 2022, the European Council recognized Georgia's European perspective and expressed readiness to grant it the status of a candidate country for EU membership as soon as 12 conditions are met, including de-oligarchization, depolarization, improvement of the media environment, ensuring full independence of the judicial system.

In October, the European Commission will prepare recommendations for the European Council, which in December will decide on granting Georgia the status of a candidate country for EU membership. Georgia will receive candidate status if the leaders of all 27 EU countries support this decision.

The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the Georgian Foreign Ministry is actively working with all EU countries to obtain their consent. Earlier, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that Georgia has already received guarantees of support for the status from a number of countries.