Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker warns EU voting reform could create “privileged and non-privileged” members

Nino Tsilosani, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday criticised Germany’s proposal to abandon unanimity in EU decision-making, saying it could lead to a division of the bloc into “privileged and non-privileged” members and would be unacceptable for sovereign states such as Georgia.

In her remarks, Tsilosani noted that Georgia managed to preserve the Georgian language even during the Soviet era, while “the EU now appears to be planning to deprive smaller states of the right to protect their interests”.

“This is exactly what [Georgian Parliament Speaker] Shalva Papuashvili spoke about. When you are invited to join a union where neither your identity is respected nor do you have any right to express your opinion - not to mention the ability to advance your position - this union reminds us of the ugliest forms of structures that have existed and that we have experienced throughout history. Even during the Soviet Union, we managed to preserve the Georgian language, but it seems that the EU now plans to leave smaller states without the ability to protect anything”, she said.

“This process once again makes me wonder whether they ever truly intended to expand the European Union, or whether countries like Georgia and Ukraine were simply encouraged by the idea of EU membership so that they would serve their interests”, Tsilosani concluded.

During a keynote speech in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called for the EU’s unanimity principle to be scrapped. Instead, a “qualified majority” should be enough, he said at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation on Wednesday.