Georgian Parliament official urges EU to respect partners “instead of resorting to blackmail, political pressure”

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Friday said the alignment observed between Georgia's position and that of the United States on certain issues was due to Georgia “speaking the truth” to Brussels and pointing out a “better way to present and realize itself across the world”.

Makhashvili responded to the social media video posted by Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, which presents statements by the leaders of the Georgian Dream party and the Donald Trump administration on the EU’s immigration policy and European bureaucracy, saying that it was the Georgian Government that initially focused on these problems.

“We hope that these will not just be empty words, and Brussels will see that this is not senseless criticism, but the good will of its partners for them to self-correct, become better, respect their partners, and not impose their wrong policies through blackmail and political pressure”, Makhashvili said.

European Council President António Costa and European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas recently argued that political actors should refrain from meddling in the domestic affairs of other states. Their comments came amid controversy surrounding US criticism of developments in EU member states.