Georgian PM: European Commission spokesperson’s statement encourages radicalism, erodes trust in EU

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday criticised the European Commission’s spokesperson for supporting the October 4 Government overthrow rally organised by the opposition United National Movement party and its leader Levan Khabeishvili, calling the statement an encouragement of radicalism and polarisation.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that the European Commission’s position constitutes “direct and blatant interference” in Georgia’s internal affairs and only serves to deepen political divides.

“The statement of the European Commission’s spokesperson is an encouragement of radicalism, a direct and blatant interference in our internal affairs, and an encouragement of polarisation. Society will judge all of this”, Kobakhidze said.

The Prime Minister further added that the most troubling consequence of such statements was the impact on public confidence in European institutions.

“The most regrettable part is that such incidents drastically reduce trust toward European structures and bureaucracy, and most regrettably, they also reduce trust toward the European Union itself in Georgian society. This is the saddest thing. I believe this process must be stopped, but we cannot do this unilaterally. If European bureaucrats do not stop making such self-damaging statements, naturally, this process will continue”, he concluded.