Georgian Parliament Speaker: EU should view enlargement as historic opportunity, not burden

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the European Union should view enlargement as a historic opportunity for renewal and the restoration of its global leadership, rather than as a burden or an act of charity.

In his speech at the first Conference of Speakers of Parliament of EU Candidate Countries in Serbia’s capital city of Belgrade, Papuashvili said parliamentary dialogue among EU candidate countries should serve as a platform for practical cooperation, joint initiatives and the development of a common message to the European Union.

“When we face problems one-by-one, our voice is weaker, our leverage is reduced, and the enlargement becomes easier to delay, politicize, or treat it as an indefinite process. We should avoid the parliamentary format of the candidate countries becoming a forum for ranking, lecturing or importing bilateral disputes. It should be a forum for practical cooperation and joint initiatives. The joint declaration, which we are to adopt, clearly stipulates that we have gathered for unity, not division, and the Georgian parliament fully endorses this message”, he said.

“And, finally, the best way to address the European Union’s currently weakened geopolitical and economic positions is to step up the game and enlarge strategically critical geopolitical areas - the Balkans and the Black Sea”, Papuashvili continued.

He emphasised that this was why, EU should see enlargement as an historic opportunity to revitalize itself and regain global leadership, and not as a burden or charity, as often presented by some.

“As Georgia’s national motto puts it, strength is in unity. Let us, therefore, use this gathering for the purpose of shaping our European future together”, Papuashvili concluded.