Georgian Parliament official on European Commission report: document prepared for political goals, not objective assessment

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Sunday accused the European Commission of using its enlargement assessment document for political purposes rather than for establishing objective truth.

Commenting on the European Commission’s enlargement assessment, Makashvili said the document did not reflect an impartial analysis of factual circumstances and instead served as a political instrument, particularly in relation to Georgia.

“The European Commission’s aim, as it seems, was not to examine objective and factual circumstances and determine the objective truth based on them”, he said.

The official pointed out that while some countries facing serious challenges related to corruption and human rights were not criticised, Georgia was subjected to disproportionate scrutiny.

“They say nothing about countries that face serious challenges in terms of corruption or human rights protection, while criticising others - and especially Georgia - often completely unfairly. The main purpose of this [assessment document] is to use it as a tool of political blackmail against other countries”, Makashvili concluded.

The Council of the European Union removed articles related to corruption and human rights from the enlargement assessment documents on Ukraine and Moldova.

Imedi TV addressed enquiries to the EU Delegation on this issue but had not yet received a response.