Georgian Parliament official says US decision to leave Council of Europe’s anti-corruption group signals changing approach toward European institutions

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration, said on Wednesday that the reported US decision to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption group reflected what he described as Washington’s current approach toward European institutions.

Speaking to Imedi TV, Ionatamishvili said this approach was also evident in relations between the United States and European Union institutions.

“Individual bureaucrats have been very actively advocating isolation, including against democratically elected governments chosen by the people. We can say this not only in the case of Georgia. Ultimately, they are the ones who remain isolated. The fact that even the US Secretary of State does not recognise the European Commissioners, does not meet with them, and does not even consider it necessary to sit at the same table with them is precisely a reflection of the approach that prevails today”, he said.

The Georgian Dream official argued that some European institutions had become excessively bureaucratic and were distancing states from what he described as practical cooperation.

“This decision by the United States is a logical continuation of that approach. They realise that these structures do not actually serve to accomplish specific tasks or make progress in one area or another, but instead are additional bureaucratic bodies that distance countries from practical work. They prefer to deal directly with states and speak with officials rather than with those Eurocrats whom the people have not elected, but who have taken these positions for themselves”, Ionatamishvili continued.

He added that unless Eurocrats changed their approach, the ongoing process could become irreversible, with more reports of countries withdrawing from international structures.