Parliament Speaker: HRVP Kallas views Georgians as incapable of self-governance, demanding foreign tutoring

“It is deeply regrettable when the EU High Representative, entirely unprovoked and out of the blue, launches yet another attack on the Georgian government,” wrote the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili.

As Papuashvili noted, where there is an attack, a response will inevitably follow.

According to the Speaker, certain high-ranking EU officials still refuse to abandon the political practice of adopting a patronising tone, rather than engaging in an equal dialogue with the democratically elected government of a sovereign state.

“It is deeply regrettable when the EU High Representative, entirely unprovoked and out of the blue, launches yet another attack on the Georgian government. Such rhetoric not only contributes nothing to Georgia-EU relations but further erodes the already shaken trust in Brussels among the Georgian public. However, where there is an attack, a response will inevitably follow. The reality is that, unfortunately, certain high-ranking EU officials still refuse to abandon the political practice of adopting a patronising tone, rather than engaging in an equal dialogue with the democratically elected government of a sovereign state.

We must understand exactly what the formula ‘I support the people, but not their government’ truly means. In reality, such a statement implies that Madam Kallas believes the Georgian people are incapable of choosing their own government and therefore require external guardianship and dictation. This is not support for the Georgian people; it is outright disrespect for their political choices.

Brussels must realise that such an arrogant attitude from some of its representatives towards other nations increasingly distances the European Union from its ideals as a peace project, transforming it into an instigator of conflict instead. Kallas’s statement today is even more concerning given that, as one of the leaders of ALDE, she represents the very same political family to which Lelo belongs. And Lelo is a party that considers terrorism a legitimate tool of political struggle. Therefore, until Madam Kallas explicitly distances herself from her political partners’ justification of terrorism, any future comments she makes regarding Georgia will lack all credibility,” Papuashvili wrote.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, stated in Brussels ahead of the EU Foreign Ministers’ meetings: ‘We are also struggling with Georgia, as we don’t really have connections with the government. We don’t want to support the government. We want to support the people of Georgia.’