Georgian Parliament official: EU risks rising Euroscepticism without fair treatment of candidate countries

Davit Matikashvili, the Chair of the Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules of the Georgian Parliament, on Thursday said the European Union would face growing Euroscepticism and declining support for membership if it failed to become “a peace project” and adopt a fair approach toward candidate countries.

Commenting on the European Parliament's criticism of Georgia and Turkey, Matikashvili argued that the EU should return to the principles on which it was founded.

The European Parliament recently adopted reports criticising democratic backsliding in Georgia and Turkey. The report on Georgia was based on the work of MEP Rasa Juknevičienė, while the report on Turkey was based on the work of MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor.

“The only response to this unfair attack is that if the European Union and the European bureaucracy do not return to the values on which the EU was founded, if the European Union does not become a peace project and does not treat candidate countries fairly, this will only deepen Euroscepticism and reduce the number of those seeking EU membership”, he concluded.