Georgian PM: Georgia aspires to become member of “renewed and revived” European Union, rather than EU “as it stands today”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday expressed hope that the current “continuous decline” in Europe - in terms of democracy, human rights, and the economy - would eventually reverse.

Speaking to journalists in Shanghai, Kobakhidze said Georgia aspires to become a member of a “renewed and revived” European Union, rather than the EU “as it stands today”.

“We hope that the constant regression Europe is experiencing today - in democracy, human rights, and economic terms - will turn around. We want to become a member of such a renewed European Union, not the one we see today”, the PM said.

He further added that the EU’s current “tragic situation” reflects the serious economic and political problems created within the Union.

“In general, there is great injustice reflected in this document [the European Commission’s enlargement report]. It contains distorted facts, and the public will have its own assessment of it. The document as a whole mirrors the tragic state of European bureaucracy. The loss of sovereignty has resulted in the EU’s economic share in the global economy declining from 30% to 17.5%, and this share continues to shrink year after year. The current tragic condition has led to both economic and political problems created by European bureaucracy due to the loss of sovereignty”, he continued.

“We hope this tragic situation will change, that the ongoing regression in European space - in democracy, human rights, and the economy - will be reversed. We want to become a member of such a reformed European Union, not the one we see today”, Kobakhidze concluded.