Georgia maintains EU membership goal but hopes Union will overcome major challenges by 2030, says Georgian Prime Minister

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said his Government remained committed to joining the European Union, expressing hope that the Union would overcome its deep economic and social challenges and show positive progress by 2030.

In his interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster, Kobakhidze highlighted economic and identity-related issues within the Union, pointing out that the EU’s share of the global economy dropped from 30% in 2008 to 17.5% over 17 years, calling it a “complete disaster”.

“There was also a summit in Denmark, where certain leaders came and spoke about the need for a reboot, presenting their initiatives and discussing them with me and with [Foreign Minister] Maka Botchorishvili. Such interest exists, but unfortunately, the current situation is that these forces do not hold decisive influence; instead, decisive power lies with other forces, which we refer to as ‘deep-state-led’ forces. This is the current reality, which makes the situation somewhat difficult”, the PM said.

“Overall, the European Union is facing serious economic challenges. The EU’s share of the global economy was 30% in 2008, but over 17 years it has dropped to 17.5%, which is a complete disaster. The Union built significant prosperity over 60 years of peace, which distinguished it and its member states by 2008. Since then, economic trends have been disastrous. The EU still maintains a high level of prosperity due to the accumulation of continuous peace from 1945 to 2008, but since 2008, the trends have been very negative”, Kobakhidze continued.

He further highlighted severe identity-related challenges and catastrophic trends within the EU.

“We can see the impact migration has had on Europe, including the European Union. In Berlin last year, the most common name given to newborns was Muhammad. Similarly, across major European capitals, including throughout England, Muhammad was the most frequently given name. These are the kinds of problems the European Union is facing”, Kobakhidze noted.

Regarding LGBT issues, he criticised the European Commission’s initiatives concerning minors and gender transition.

“Listen to the initiative the European Commission has on this matter: when it comes to children changing their gender, not only should it be legalised that a child can change their gender, but any country that does not comply should face financial sanctions. This is a calamity happening in the European Union”, the PM noted.

“We still maintain our goal of EU membership, but we hope that by 2030, the EU will overcome these catastrophic problems and that trends will improve. If not, the trajectory is worrying - from 30% to 17.5% in 17 years, and it could worsen further in five years, both economically and in terms of identity. With ministers like the one in Finland, there can be little hope for economic progress or identity preservation. Our hope is that by 2030, EU trends will move in a positive direction”, Kobakhidze concluded.