Georgian Parliament Speaker: EU’s approach to Georgia and candidate countries misaligned with European values

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said that during his address at the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Turkey, he will focus on the risks of external interference and the need for a unified approach to addressing hybrid threats.

Papuashvili noted that the main message of his speech will concern emerging global challenges that, as he noted, are visible in many countries.

He emphasised that states are seeking to protect their national interests from external interference and argued that a coordinated international response is necessary to counter hybrid threats.

Papuashvili also stated that discussions will be held with representatives of EU member states regarding Georgia–EU relations and what he described as a “regrettable situation” in the current state of dialogue. He claimed that dialogue is being limited and that a unilateral directive-based approach is becoming increasingly dominant in Brussels.

“It is important to convey our message to the parliaments of EU member states and to show that the current approach chosen by Brussels towards Georgia and candidate countries is fully misaligned with European values”, he said, adding that European parliaments should also express their positions on the matter.

“There will be a discussion with representatives of the EU member states on the relations between Georgia and the EU, on the unfortunate reality that we see from Brussels. Unfortunately, the dialogue regime is being blocked and the approach of unilateral directives is becoming increasingly powerful in Brussels. Therefore, it is important to reach out to the parliaments of the EU member states and show that the path that Brussels has chosen today in relation to Georgia and the candidate countries is completely out of line with European values. It is important that the European Parliament also shows its own positions in this regard”, he concluded.

The Georgian parliamentary delegation is attending the IPU’s 152nd Assembly in Istanbul, where Papuashvili is scheduled to deliver a speech. During the visit, the delegation is expected to hold more than 10 meetings in both bilateral formats and within plenary discussions, including talks with parliamentary speakers from EU member states and candidate countries.