Page 7 - GEORptSep18

Pragmatic considerations appear to prevent Berlin from pressing too heavily on Moscow, Merkel suggested in Tbilisi. “Germany can’t afford to say no to cooperation with Russia on oil and gas,” she said.
2.3 Merkel wants Georgia classified “safe” to stem flow of asylum seekers
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during her August 23 visit to Tbilisi that Georgia should be classified as a "safe country" of origin, a move that would place an extra obstacle in the way of Georgian citizens seeking asylum in Germany.
Given the fraught debate in Germany over how many refugees and other migrants the country can sensibly absorb, the rising number of Georgians heading to the country since the European Union in March 2017 liberalised visa rules for the South Caucasus nation of 3.7mn has not gone down well with a lot of Germans. Numbers have started to retreat in recent months but Merkel—who arrived in Georgia on the first stop of a tour that will also take in South Caucasus countries Armenia and Azerbaijan —was not about to give up an opportunity to speak directly to the Georgians on the matter.
"Georgia is definitely a safe country," she said during a joint news conference with recently appointed Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze.
If German and other EU member state authorities could point to an official recognition that Georgia is a safe country of origin, it would simplify the process of turning away Georgians seeking asylum. In 2017, the number of Georgians applying for asylum in the EU increased by 35% y/y to 10,465, according to the European Asylum Support Centre.
Sweden is also a favourite destination of Georgians seeking asylum. In March, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili met with Donald Tusk , the president of the European Council, and senior representatives of Germany and Sweden, to discuss the issue of Georgian asylum seekers in the EU. Shortly before that meeting, Georgia's justice ministry launched a smartphone application m eant to prevent Georgian citizens from overstaying in the EU.
Bakhtadze told Merkel his government would continue to assist Berlin in further cutting the number of Georgian asylum seekers requesting to stay in Germany.
2.4 Georgian party leader applies to change name to “Pine Cone” for presidential campaign
Zurab Japaridze, the leader of the Girchi party, says he has applied to change his name to Girchi — which means “Pine Cone” in Georgian — ahead of this autumn’s presidential elections.
Japaridze is unable to stand as a presidential candidate on behalf of his party under Georgia’s election rules as the recently formed party was not registered for the last parliamentary elections, the politician wrote on his Facebook page on August 9.
7 GEORGIA Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com