Georgian PM: Europe faces serious economic and democratic challenges

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said that certain forces were seeking to weaken Europe, including its economy and democratic institutions, adding that developments across European countries reflected these efforts.

In his remarks, the Prime Minister argued that these developments served the interests of forces wielding decisive influence over the European bureaucracy.

“This is not actually an issue concerning the European Union. It serves the interests of forces that exert decisive influence over the European bureaucracy. One of their main goals is to weaken Europe, including its economy and democratic institutions, and the developments unfolding across European countries are a manifestation of this”, he said.

“You know that Europe is facing significant challenges, including in economic terms. Since Europe lost access to, for example, cheap Russian energy resources, serious difficulties have emerged in the energy sector and the economy as a whole. There are serious challenges in many areas, and you can also see that democratic systems have been undermined across virtually the entire continent. Approval ratings for leaders have fallen below 20% in many cases”, Kobakhidze continued.

He stressed that these developments were part of complex processes being pursued by certain forces with the aim of weakening Europe, describing the situation as “deeply regrettable”.

“We hope that Europe will find the strength within itself to reverse this trend and put things on a better course”, the Prime Minister concluded.