Georgian Parliament Speaker: EU must return to core values on which it was founded

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said the European Union must return to the core European values upon which it was founded.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Papuashvili expressed concern that part of the EU bureaucracy and some member state governments haდ drifted away from those principles.

The Speaker was responding to comments made by Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who recently said “Ukraine and Moldova are moving toward EU membership, as is Georgia - if it returns to the European path”.

“My response is that the European Union should return to the European values it was founded on. Unfortunately, we are witnessing that a part of its bureaucracy and certain national governments have deviated from these values”, he noted.

Papuashvili further highlighted that the actions of some post-Soviet EU member states reflected a Soviet influence on the functioning of EU institutions.

“We are witnessing how some post-Soviet countries, now EU members, are introducing a Soviet undertone into the actions of EU institutions. I have personally addressed the EU Ambassador multiple times, even in writing, because perhaps media extracts do not reach them. I asked directly: 'Your funding is used to attack people and their children, day and night - do you feel responsible for this?' The answer I got was: 'Well, the situation is tense…' That response is an insult, a tactic to evade responsibility”, he said.

Papuashvili further criticised what he called a narrative shift aimed at diverting attention.

“Instead of responding to real concerns, we are told we must return to some imaginary path - without any real clarity on who supposedly deviated and how. One must also look at the EU’s own actions”, Papuashvili added.

The Speaker further claimed that the EU, through various sources, was funding hatred, violence, and propaganda in Georgia.

“The EU bureaucracy and certain governments are clearly out of step with European values. This is a fact. Because paying for violence is not a European value. I checked every encyclopedia and couldn’t find that encouraging and financing hatred is considered a European value. And today, the EU is funding hatred, violence, and propaganda in Georgia through various channels. I have sent evidence of this to the EU Ambassador. If he wants, he can respond with evidence showing that what I sent does not constitute hatred or incitement to violence”, Papuashvili concluded.