Georgian Parliament official says EU bureaucracy sought to influence who governs Georgia

Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Regional Policy and Self-government Committee, on Tuesday said that relations between Georgia and parts of the European Union deteriorated after Georgian voters chose a government that did not follow external directives, arguing that some EU actors attempt to determine political outcomes in Georgia.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Kadagishvili discussed current relations between Georgia and the European Union, claiming that political dialogue has been undermined by what he described as an ultimatum-based approach from some European institutions.

“The main thing that runs as a leitmotif through this attitude is that they speak to Georgia in the language of ultimatums. The main issue is where all of this is coming from. The whole problem is precisely that the Euro-bureaucracy and certain circles within the European Union initially chose one direction - they believed that deciding who should be in power in Georgia and what policy the Georgian government should pursue had to be entirely up to them”, he said.

The official argued that this approach assumes external decision-making authority over domestic political processes.

“In other words, directives were supposed to come from outside regarding who and to what extent should be represented in the Georgian government, and what policy that externally appointed government should then implement”, Kadagishvili noted.

He further claimed that the divergence in relations occurred when Georgian citizens voted independently and did not elect a government aligned with external expectations or directives.

“This is where the paths diverged, when Georgian citizens acted not according to these directives, but according to their own will, and did not elect a government that would agree to implement any directive. For now, we are dealing with an inability to accept this defeat”, Kadagishvili concluded.