"Georgia complies with EU policy by 28%" - debate in the European Parliament

Georgia’s compliance with EU policy

At a meeting of the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee in the European Parliament, Luc Devin, Deputy Director of the EU Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, criticized the Georgian authorities for some reforms and political moves and said that Georgia’s compliance with EU foreign policy had dropped to 28 percent.

What else was said in the European Parliament:

Luc Devin: “Your Prime Minister said that NATO expansion is the cause of the war in Ukraine. The problem is that the Prime Minister only cited NATO expansion as the reason, which is a Russian narrative and a complete lie, because from 2008, from the moment of the announcement of the accession of both Georgia and Ukraine, until 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, no practical steps were taken for Ukraine’s accession to NATO. So that was just an excuse for Russia.

The resumption of flights is not unilateral, because it requires the consent of the country where the aircraft is to land, and therefore you cannot unilaterally decide to fly to one country or another, this decision itself was mutual.

Juozas Olekas, Member of the European Parliament: “We are gathered here, friends of Georgia, and we wish her success in European integration. I learned what Georgia has done to implement the 12 recommendations, this is very good, congratulations. But I think it’s like looking through rose-colored glasses. I think it’s very important to listen to each other. Changes should not only be bureaucratic, but should be real. The polarization between political groups is very strong. First of all, the management team must find a way to solve this problem. For example, it could be the release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili.”

Cosma Zlotowski, Member of the European Parliament:
“We are certainly following the progress of the implementation of the 12 recommendations. Depolarization is the most difficult of them. What does depolarization mean? Healthy polarization is the foundation of democracy. They [political forces] need to be different so that people know who they want to vote for, but sometimes the polarization can go too far. It would be a good gesture to release Mr. Saakashvili. He is a former president of Georgia, and the way he is treated by the Georgian authorities is very disappointing for many MEPs. One of the former presidents of Poland is also an opponent of the government, but he was not arrested. Please consider making this gesture.”

Marina Kaljurand, MEP: “When I mentioned the encouragement of aggression, I meant the interview of the Prime Minister of Georgia, which he gave on March 12 to Imedi TV, where he said: “The European Parliament must look at itself. Why does he dictate what to do, it was and is their desire – drawing Georgia into a war against Russia! These are the words of the Prime Minister. When we say that we hear anti-Western rhetoric, that we hear accusations against deputies, that there are accusations against political factions in the European Parliament and other EU institutions, we are not saying this out of nowhere, these are specific statements by your leaders. And I want to say that I am very sorry if you think that our discussion today is leading to polarization in Georgia. My advice: don’t blame others, look in the mirror and see what you can do better.

I understand that things are going well with Russia and Georgia’s GDP growth last year was impressive. But membership in the EU is about shared values and shared commitments, not just GDP growth.”

Georgia’s compliance with EU policy

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“I am very sorry to see the willingness to give the most negative interpretation of the statements made by the leaders of Georgia,” Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Tea Akhvlediani said at the same meeting.

According to her, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s statement concerned a threat from Russia if it wanted to join NATO. The prime minister said that Georgia as a sovereign state and the Georgian people have the right to choose integration into the European Union and NATO, Akhvlediani said. She also noted that Russia attacked Georgia precisely in order to stop the country’s progress along this path, and the same thing happened in the case of Ukraine.

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“We have all grown up and are raising our children with the thought and fear that membership in NATO and the European Union will lead to conflict with Russia. The whole world was talking about this even after the collapse of the Soviet Socialist Republic, but today we heard other opinions,” Maya Bitadze, deputy of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said.

“Some of the statements we heard today are not depolarization, but a step towards polarization. I am a politician, I am a citizen of Georgia, and I have one question: for what reason did Russia occupy the territories of Georgia? Why did Russia start several wars in Georgia, first in the 90s and then in 2008, why was there an embargo on us, why do we have refugees and why are we afraid every day that Russia will attack us? Is there another answer to this? I really want to have a clear answer to this question.”

Georgia’s compliance with EU policy