Georgian Dream parliamentary leader: ‘We have no place in such EU’
Georgian Dream on EU membership
Shalva Papuashvili, speaker of parliament and a member of the ruling Georgian Dream, said that “Soviet Moscow is gradually being replaced by Brussels”.
His comments came after the European Parliament barred pro-government broadcaster Imedi TV from working inside the parliament for one year.
Papuashvili described the decision as a “hostile act” against the Georgian people and said it was “an attempt to suppress freedom of speech”.
“This is yet another reason for us to reflect on what the European Union has become today. At this point, it is essentially Rasa Jukneviciene and people like her. That is where the EU has ended up,” Shalva Papuashvili said.
According to Papuashvili, “Georgia has no place in an EU like this”, and the bloc should return to its “original values”.
The speaker added that until the EU “gets rid of such people”, Georgia would not be convinced that European integration could benefit the country.
Papuashvili also compared the EU to the Soviet Union, saying Brussels was its “reincarnation” and that “they even have the same aesthetics”.
On 13 May 2026, Imedi TV said it had received an official letter from the European Parliament banning the channel from working inside the parliament for one year. According to the broadcaster, the decision followed a report aired on one of its programmes.
Imedi also said that Moldova had denied accreditation to Imedi TV, Rustavi 2 and PosTV for a meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which will also be attended by representatives of Georgia’s foreign ministry.
Georgian Dream on EU membership
