National interests drove Georgia’s economic success, says Georgian Parliament Speaker, citing Moldova’s struggles

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday took to social media today to highlight Georgia's significant economic growth compared to Moldova, despite what he described as “unjust attacks and Soviet-style threats” directed at Georgia, while Moldova received EU candidate status and promises of prosperity.

In a social media message, Papuashvili presented data comparing the economic growth of Georgia and Moldova between 2021 and 2024. He noted that while Moldova emerged from the COVID-19 recession stronger than Georgia in 2021 with 13.9% economic growth, it has since entered “severe economic stagnation” with near-zero or negative figures since the war in Ukraine began.

Conversely, the Speaker pointed out Georgia’s substantial budgetary increase.

“While in 2021, Georgia's budget was $2.4 billion more than Moldova's, in 2025, our budget exceeds Moldova's by $4.8 billion”, he wrote, emphasising that the budget difference has doubled in five years.

“All this, while Moldova was given candidate status, opening of negotiations, promised heavenly manna, and they even want to set it as an example for us, while we were made the object of unjust attacks and Soviet-style threats”, Papuashvili continued.

He then posed a rhetorical question: “So what happened? What did we do or not do, as a result of which we are a leader in economic growth compared to all European countries, while Moldova is in severe economic stagnation?”

Papuashvili's answer was unequivocal: “The answer is clear: we acted in the national interests of Georgia and not according to Brussels' instructions. If we had followed them, today we would be an economically and physically ruined country”.

He asserted that this historical lesson should make everyone realise that “no one will put our country's interests above their own”.

Papuashvili cited examples where he believes Georgia learned this lesson, including Kyiv's request to send fighters, Brussels’ demand to close the border with Russia, and the rhetoric surrounding Ukraine being the “front line of the European Union”, while, in his view, those making the statements are unwilling to shed their own blood on that front.