Nino Samkharadze[1]

Although the first stage of the EU’s mediation during the ongoing Georgian political crisis initially failed, Georgian political parties continue to discuss the terms of the agreement within the EU’s mediation framework.[2] During different stages of the discussion process, the agreement has now been signed by the governing Georgian Dream party and Girchi, a libertarian movement. In this respect, it can be said that the consensus-achieving process has been relaunched, and evaluation of the specific components of the deal is once again the subject of active discussion.

Despite the importance of dealing with the crisis itself, this document should only be considered a starting point in the process of forming a consensus-oriented political culture. The EU’s role in Georgian politics is far greater then resolving the active phase of the given crisis: in the long term, it can assist Georgia in creating a political culture and transforming into a stable European state. In this regard, involving political parties in the Jean Monnet Dialogue and making maximum use of the format may play an active part in this process. Therefore, it is interesting to examine what sort of opportunities the given dialogue will grant Georgia, and how the country can benefit from it.