Georgian Parliament official skeptical EU will review Georgia's progress, citing “another plan”

Gia Volski, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and the First Vice Speaker of the Parliament, on Thursday expressed skepticism that the European Commission would give proper consideration to the letter recently sent by the Georgian Government regarding its EU integration progress.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Volski said the Commission has other priorities and strategic goals that go beyond the technical assessment of candidate countries’ progress.

“I have the impression they won’t even read it. They are not interested - their objectives and plans are much bigger and more serious than discussing at what stage a candidate country stands in terms of integration. If the document were to be thoroughly examined, the EU would find no grounds to argue that Georgia is lagging behind in fulfilling the required steps”,Volski said.

“International rankings clearly show Georgia is ahead of many candidate countries, and in several areas even ahead of some EU member states. Secondly, none of the laws adopted in Georgia contradict EU standards. They shamelessly claim that legislation related to protecting families and restricting LGBT propaganda is discriminatory toward sexual minorities - but that is not true. All rights are protected, and everyone is equal before the law. The law simply aims to prevent offering children gender reassignment”, he concluded.

The letter sent by the Georgian Government to the European Commission outlines in detail the measures taken toward advancing Georgia’s EU integration and emphasises the country’s readiness for constructive dialogue with Brussels.