Georgian Parliament Speaker claims Brussels demands annulment of Georgian-backed law, cites media’s failure to question EU Ambassador

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday sharply criticised certain media outlets for what he described as manipulative propaganda, accusing them of distorting the public discourse around Georgia’s relationship with the European Union.

“For several days now, propaganda-driven media outlets have been ‘investigating’ whether Brussels is demanding that Georgian men be forcibly married off, or that each year we send off 100 selected boys and girls. The real aim of this so-called ‘investigation’ is to provide their propaganda-fed audience with a daily dose of emotional shock”, the Speaker said in a social media message.

He further stressed that the actual goal of such narratives was to deflect public attention from serious and substantial issues.

Papuashvili emphasised that media sympathetic to what he called “Brussels-praising propaganda” was avoiding the most straightforward path to clarity - asking direct questions to the EU Ambassador.

“Turning a serious issue into a groundless farce is a well-worn propaganda trick meant to distract from what truly matters. The real issue is that Brussels has, for some reason, demanded the complete repeal of a law that was adopted by a parliament elected in elections essentially declared as a referendum, and a law supported by both the Georgian Orthodox Church and other traditional religious institutions”, he continued.

He underscored that the contested law - on Family Values and Protection of Minors - enjoys broad societal consensus and has no connection to visa-free travel arrangements.

Papuashvili went on to suggest that rather than distorting the facts, journalists should simply pose the following direct questions to the EU Ambassador - “Should the prohibition of same-sex marriage and alternative forms of legal unions be abolished? Should the legal ban on gender reassignment be lifted? Should it be allowed to list a gender different from one’s biological sex on official documents? Should the ban on LGBT propaganda in kindergartens and schools be repealed?”

The European Commission has sent a letter to Georgia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maka Botchorishvili, outlining eight recommendations the country must fulfil to avoid jeopardizing its visa-free travel with the EU.

One of the main recommendations is the repeal of the laws on transparency of foreign influence and on the protection of family values and minors.