Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maka Botchorishvili, spoke on the Imedi LIVE program about the European Parliament’s recently adopted resolution on Georgia. According to the minister, although such documents are not legally binding, the Georgian side cannot completely ignore them, as they contribute to shaping narratives aimed at harming Georgia’s national interests.

“We have already seen that these resolutions have no real force and carry little significance. When this resolution and report were approved by the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, we issued our response. We paid attention to them for a very simple reason. We have often heard from European politicians and Brussels bureaucrats that we should not pay too much attention to European Parliament resolutions, as they are not decisive for EU policy. Nevertheless, for us, the European Parliament is an EU institution just like the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. Therefore, we cannot completely ignore its documents, especially since they reflect the views of certain politicians and help shape specific narratives,” Botchorishvili stated.

She added that the documents are “built entirely on falsehoods and false narratives” and are created with the sole purpose of damaging Georgia’s interests and tarnishing the country’s reputation.

“These documents have no force and no political weight. However, it is unacceptable for us that even a small number of Members of the European Parliament attack our country and society in such a manner, without any grounds and based entirely on falsehoods. We cannot leave unanswered such campaigns against Georgia, which have been ongoing for years and have one objective only – to damage our country’s national interests,” the minister said.

The foreign minister also commented on a video statement by Member of the European Parliament Rasa Juknevičienė regarding EU enlargement.

“Ms. Rasa has a habit of speaking openly about issues, which sheds light on the overall attitude toward this process. We have repeatedly discussed why the EU’s enlargement policy was reactivated in 2022. Today’s developments make it even clearer to what extent the offer of EU membership to war-torn Ukraine and other countries in our region in 2022 was used as an instrument. Before 2022, there was a period when the European Commission had even removed the enlargement portfolio from its mandate and did not have a Commissioner for Enlargement. Such a Commission existed in previous years. Enlargement was not a priority then, but it became one after the war. Was a war necessary for the EU to start thinking about geopolitical necessity? These are indeed difficult admissions from Ms. Rasa and require further analysis by our society to understand what purposes these people pursue through EU enlargement,” Botchorishvili said.

The minister emphasized that Georgia’s integration into the European Union remains of special importance to the country from both ideological and practical perspectives.

“We have repeatedly stated that integration with the European Union is extremely important for us, given our history, culture and identity. This is the geopolitical space where we see ourselves. It is important to us not only ideologically, but also in practical terms. At the same time, it appears that for others, this process has served as a different kind of instrument,” Maka Botchorishvili stated.