FM: Evaluating Georgia, EC omits topics where Georgia excels, favouring silence on concerning situations

“When assessing Georgia, the European Commission’s report deliberately leaves out areas where the country demonstrates real success and presents a notably better picture compared to other states,” Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili told journalists.

Journalists inquired about reports indicating that the European Commission had removed assessments of corruption and human rights from the enlargement evaluation documents concerning Ukraine and Moldova.

“If these are crucial issues for candidate countries, why are they absent from the European Commission’s report?”

“Exactly for the same reasons that the assessment of Georgia omits topics where the country is genuinely thriving and has a much clearer, more positive outlook than others. Likewise, in relation to countries where the situation may be alarmingly serious in various respects, the European Commission prefers to stay silent and avoid making any judgments.

It is not in line with the standards which the European Commission has historically upheld, nor the principles that should underpin the European Union’s policy. The flaws in the European Union’s approach, and the subsequent errors or misguided decisions, are largely rooted in such inaccurate assessments and flawed directions; and we see the consequences of that today,” Maka Botchorishvili stated.