Speaker Papuashvili: Crucial to engage with EU member states directly to prove Brussels’ Georgia policy harms Europe’s own interests

“Regrettably, Brussels has reached a complete impasse regarding Georgia, falling hostage to its own illusions,” stated Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili during a press briefing.

Reporters questioned Papuashvili on his upcoming official visits to Belgium and Luxembourg, asking: “You criticise Europe every week, yet you try to arrange meetings with the very people you accuse of violence?”

Papuashvili underscored that direct dialogue with individual EU member states is vital, backed by evidence showing that Brussels, which ought to act in Europe’s best interests, is instead damaging EU interests through its hostile policy towards Georgia.

“You are attempting to frame the narrative as though Europe is Georgia’s enemy. When did we ever claim that? That is your assertion. We are calling out specific factions. Tell me: does funding violence in Georgia not amount to enmity towards Georgian national interests?

European funds, managed by Brussels officials and Members of the European Parliament, were being spent here. Look at the governing board of the European Endowment for Democracy: it is populated by radical MEPs who are open allies of the dictator Saakashvili.

As for our diplomatic visits, a full itinerary is set. Brussels is trapped in a self-made deadlock over Georgia and cannot break free. We want to help Brussels exit this impasse. By maintaining this stance, having chosen a path of confrontation with a candidate country that is economically and politically vital to Europe, Brussels undermines the EU’s strategic objectives.

The EU’s current policy on Georgia is self-destructive. Our goal is to help Brussels correct this course. They are prisoners of their own making. We must engage directly with EU member states, presenting our arguments to demonstrate that Brussels, which ought to act in the European Union’s best interests, is acting against European interests.

The purpose of these bilateral visits to Belgium and Luxembourg is to cut through the false narratives that the Brussels bureaucracy seeks to entrench regarding Georgia, and to highlight the slander, such as the statements we heard yesterday.

The visit will take place in Belgium and Luxembourg; you will see the schedule in due course. We have not spoiled anything that now needs fixing. We are acting in our country’s best interests. We stand ready, if it remains unclear to anyone what those interests are: escalation with Russia is not in our national interest. It might suit Germany or Lithuania for Georgia to escalate tensions with Russia, but with all due respect, our own interests come first. When Brussels tries to act as a filter and impose a false narrative on EU member states, our goal is to deliver our truth. I hold a valid visa, so there was no need for me to apply for one,” Papuashvili said.