Georgian Parliament Speaker: European Parliament, in its latest report, has effectively equated itself with Russia’s occupation policy

The European Parliament, in its latest report, has effectively equated itself with Russia’s occupation policy, said on Thursday Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

In his remarks at a briefing, Papuashvili noted that while Russia denies Georgia’s sovereignty over one-fifth of its territory, the European Parliament refuses to recognise Georgia’s sovereignty over its entire territory.

He further described as unprecedented the European Parliament’s reference to former Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili as the country’s legitimate representative, despite the fact that, under the current Constitution and legislation, she holds no state authority, while labeling the Parliament, Government, and President elected by the people as a “de facto Government”.

Papuashvili emphasised that such an attitude was disrespectful toward the 2.1 million voters who expressed their political will in the parliamentary elections.

“The latest resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have ultimately crossed the red lines established by the Georgian people and have grossly violated the principles of Georgia’s sovereignty and national independence”, the Speaker said.

“Under the banner of the European Union and the idea of European integration, the European Parliament has effectively disregarded the independence and sovereignty that the Georgian people achieved through struggle and sacrifice and has insulted the very idea of Georgian statehood”, Papuashvili continued.

He further added that through the report prepared by Rasa Juknevičienė, the European Parliament has effectively declared that the right to determine the legitimacy of Georgia’s authorities belongs not to the Georgian people but to Brussels’ political bureaucracy; that it is entitled to decide who should govern Georgia and which government is acceptable.

“This constitutes a rejection of the fundamental principles of democracy. Democracy is based on the sovereign will of the people, whereas the European Parliament is effectively claiming that Georgia’s government should be defined not by the choice of the Georgian people but by the confidence of the EU’s political elite. Such an approach reflects not a union of equal partners but the logic of feudal vassalage, under which sovereignty is not a natural right of the people but a privilege granted from above”, Papuashvili noted.

“Thus, in its latest report, the European Parliament has effectively equated itself with Russia’s occupation policy. While Russia denies Georgia’s sovereignty over one-fifth of its territory, the European Parliament refuses to recognize Georgia’s sovereignty over its entire territory”, he continued.

The Speaker added that the European Parliament’s resolution is not directed solely against Georgia’s democratic institutions.

“It also directly concerns the second historical pillar of the Georgian state - the Georgian Orthodox Church. Mentioning the Church in the context of Russian religious networks and influence operations constitutes the first open attack by an official European institution against the Georgian Church and insults the religious feelings of millions of believers. Moreover, this dangerous precedent creates the impression that, as in other cases, the ground is being tested for similar attacks”, he said.

“A simultaneous attack on Georgia’s state sovereignty and the Georgian Church is, in essence, an attack on the idea of Georgian statehood. When the European Commission and the ruling political forces of EU member states respond to such disinformation and political subversion with silence or support, they should understand that they will not be able to wash their hands of responsibility and shift the blame entirely onto the widely criticized European Parliament. Therefore, it is a matter of principle for us that the European Commission immediately distances itself from such a gross attack on the Georgian Church by the European Parliament”, the Speaker continued.

Papuashvili stressed that the latest resolution once again demonstrated that the EU bureaucracy must take effective steps to restore dialogue with Georgia.

“To achieve this, hostile rhetoric toward the Georgian people and the Georgian Church must cease, disinformation against Georgia’s democratically elected government must end, Georgia’s state sovereignty must be fully recognised, and the fundamental principles of international law must be consistently upheld”, he noted.

“It is hypocrisy when, on the one hand, the European Parliament condemns violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, while on the other hand seeks to determine the legitimacy of Georgia’s government instead of leaving that decision to the Georgian people. Such selective application of international law and the principle of self-determination means that the European Parliament is abandoning respect for the equality of states and the free will of peoples and is attempting to return the world to an era when the fate of nations was decided by metropolises rather than by their own populations”, Papuashvili concluded.