Georgian Parliament Speaker says US national security strategy mirrors Georgian PM’s longstanding claims

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday responded to references about the European Union in the new US national security strategy, noting that Tbilisi has been conveying similar messages to Brussels for several years but has repeatedly encountered what he described as a “deaf wall”.

He added that, based on available information, the EU’s foreign policy is referred to in the White House as “Estonisation”, a term used to describe what he sees as the EU’s impulsive activism, which he claims has led the Union toward economic and value-based stagnation.

“What the United States reiterated in its strategy is exactly what Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has been saying. The EU, which once accounted for 24% of the global economy, has now fallen to 17% due to this headstrong activist stance, this so-called Estonisation. I hope this will finally serve as a wake-up call”, the Speaker said.

Papuashvili highlighted that the strategy underlined the US reliance on patriotic forces, adding that Georgia has consistently welcomed the political shifts taking place across EU countries.

“We have repeatedly stated that we welcome the awakening seen in various EU countries, where patriotic forces are gaining more influence. We hope that patriotic forces will come to power in every European country”, the Speaker noted.

Papuashvili concluded by asserting that this, in his view, represents the only path for restoring relations between Tbilisi and Brussels and improving the EU’s policy approach.