“It is now plainly evident that, following the silence of the Biden administration’s press spokespeople, the European Commission spokesperson has begun to speak. Therefore, I want to address the European Commission’s press service directly: the orchestrated attacks against the Georgian people are now crystal clear,” declared Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament.

Papuashvili was responding to a statement by the European Commission spokesperson, who claimed that “the endorsement of the MEGOBARI Act by Congress demonstrates that the international community is closely monitoring developments in Georgia, and that the government’s actions are far from what we expect from a candidate country.”

“I remind you that, thanks to the foreign agents registry in the United States, we discovered that American lobbyists appear to have been drafting resolutions in the European Parliament. We found that the resolutions adopted had been authored by American lobbyists. I don’t know who is writing statements for the European Commission spokesperson, but I believe it’s crucial that the EC focus on the fact that, after the U.S. ceased harmful funding of disinformation, violent groups, and propaganda—funding previously channeled through USAID and other mechanisms—the European Union’s budget has now become an enabler of propaganda, hate speech, and violence,” Papuashvili stated.

“Therefore, if the European Commission spokesperson considers themselves qualified to comment on Georgian affairs, perhaps they could clarify whether they plan to review the EU funding that flows into political parties. It is confirmed that, through the European Endowment for Democracy (EED)—an organisation established and funded by the European Commission—radical political parties, disruptive groups, disinformation outlets, and anti-Georgian propaganda are being financed with EU funds. If they truly wish to discuss Georgia, let them answer this question,” Papuashvili concluded.