Georgian Parliament official criticises EU for overlooking Georgia at Black Sea summit

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, on Thursday criticised what he called “Eurocrats” for overlooking Georgia, a country he said was reclaiming its historic role as a link between East and West, during a summit of Black Sea littoral states.

In an interview with Imedi TV, Gorduladze said the omission was ultimately more damaging to the European Union than to Georgia, arguing that the EU needed Georgia just as much as Georgia needed the EU.

“Georgia is reclaiming its historic role and mission - connecting East and West - and it is illogical for a summit of Black Sea littoral states to take place without a representative of the Euro-bureaucracy even mentioning Georgia. EU decisions are driven solely by political motives that have led them to the current situation”, Gorduladze said.

He further claimed that the EU’s often unelected bureaucracy was made up of people who opposed transparency in Georgia and financed movements and forces that, he alleged, had made “fascist” statements.

“For instance, the public is well aware of the extent to which the Kordz song represents freedom of expression and art in general. It is also a known fact that, even within the European Parliament, decisions are often made through votes cast by hundreds of individuals who have not even read the documents concerning the matters being voted upon. We have also witnessed instances where they could not locate Iran on a map, for example. When decisions of a purely political nature are made at such a level, the result is what we see today”, Gorduladze added.

“These consequences harm the European Union itself rather than Georgia, given that the EU needs Georgia just as much as Georgia needs the EU. I would remind them that Georgia is reclaiming its historic role and mission - connecting East and West - and it is illogical for a summit of Black Sea littoral states to take place without a representative of the Euro-bureaucracy even mentioning Georgia”, he continued.

Gorduladze added that there was no alternative to dialogue and that Georgia was making full use of every available platform to present its position and “speak the truth”.