The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has expressed his hope that the European Union will cease discussing a concept that implies the segregation of nations within the bloc.

Papuashvili commented on a statement by the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, who confirmed that veto rights would be restricted for new EU member states.

In Shalva Papuashvili’s view, candidate countries must speak out against this outrageous initiative.

“I hope these discussions will be dropped. On the other hand, I believe the moment has come for candidate countries to speak out against this truly outrageous initiative, which amounts to the segregation of nations within the EU in the 21st century. When we applied for EU membership four years ago, we did not sign up to a deal where Georgia, upon accession, would have no voice and no real participation in foreign policy; where they would decide security policy or the EU’s financial and budgetary policy without us; where they would decide rights and new legal matters without us.

Crucially, they would amend EU treaties without us, inserting or removing whatever they please without even consulting new members. I do not know what else the Soviet Union was, if not this very approach, where there are great nations and small nations, and the great nations dominate the small ones. This is a very regrettable development. One would think it was a Freudian slip, were it not for the fact that we are being gradually, systematically conditioned, and are being conditioned right now, to accept the notion that, under EU membership, we will be a second-class nation within the European Union,” Shalva Papuashvili stated.

He further argued that by merely debating and contemplating such decisions, the EU is drifting away from its own core principles, which are rooted in the fundamental equality of its members.

“Neither we nor anyone else has any intention of being second-class nations. We did not sign up for this, nor does Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution imply that we should turn our nation into a second-class entity within any union. It is now critical for candidate countries to unite their voices and resist the EU’s plunge towards a civilisational abyss. This is not just a problem for candidate states; ultimately, it will impact existing member states as well. Segregation will take hold within current member states, with first-class nations deciding the fate of second-class ones. Therefore, it is the EU itself that needs saving today, so that it does not completely throw itself into a civilisational abyss,” Papuashvili said.

Shalva Papuashvili added that despite pressure from Brussels, Georgia remains committed to its European path.

“We are interested in seeing what the EU’s plans are. Our own plans are clear, and we are following them; despite the pressure on Georgia from Brussels, we are continuing on our path, even in the face of their obstruction. I am referring to our European path. We are waiting to see what decision the EU will make. They must decide how they view the European Union: whether they see it as the EU that was originally envisioned at its creation, or whether it is to be fully transformed into a Soviet Union where dominant and subordinate nations exist.

Do you want to be in the position of a subordinate nation? Do you want to be a subordinate, second-class nation in any union? We want to know what the EU intends to do. For now, this is just a proposal, but it is a dangerous one. Previously, it was only individual leaders of member states talking about this; Merz [Friedrich Merz] mentioned it and received a fitting response from Zelenskyy to the effect that Ukraine would not contemplate being a second-class nation. In this instance, the idea has been presented as an official, considered EU position. It is tragic that such an idea was even conceived and is now being seriously debated. We must closely monitor this to ensure that even the discussion of this idea is brought to an immediate halt,” Papuashvili noted.