“Brussels must reaffirm the EU’s fundamental values, including respect for human rights and the rule of law,” writes Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on social media.

As Papuashvili notes, “All donors must act responsibly and transparently respond to legitimate questions.”

“Yesterday, we witnessed a whole torrent of attacks from Brussels on the Georgian state, which has unfortunately become a trend recently. Such attacks are particularly alarming under circumstances when propaganda and disinformation, hate campaigns and undermining of democratic institutions, political persecution and extremism are demonstrably funded from the budget funds of the European Union and some of its members.

Instead of answering these legitimate and fact-based questions, the Georgian people receive politically motivated attacks, which contradict the declared values of the European Union. Brussels must reaffirm the EU’s fundamental values, including respect for human rights and the rule of law. It is crucial that, instead of evading questions, all donors act responsibly and transparently answer legitimate questions,” writes Shalva Papuashvili.