24 Jun, 2022
On behalf of the Georgian Dream party, I would like to comment on yesterday’s decision by the European Council, with which the European Union officially recognized Georgia’s European perspective.
Following the signing of the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement, as well as the adoption of visa liberalization, this has been yet another – fourth – major step on the path to European integration. As you know, the country achieved all four results under the Georgian Dream government. The Georgian Dream continues to work with the same degree of consistency to obtain EU membership candidate status in the appropriate timeframe.
We would like to thank European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen for this decision and for their words of support to our country, the Georgian people, and the Georgian authorities.
As you know, Charles Michel called yesterday a “historic moment in EU-Georgia relations.” Michel noted that Georgia’s future is in the European Union and congratulated the Georgian people on the decision of the Council.
Ursula von der Leyen called the decision of the European Council “historic” and personally congratulated Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili. As she noted, the decision of the European Council will make both Georgia and the European Union stronger.
We all understand that the European Council made yesterday’s decision entirely in view of the political context. As Emmanuel Macron, the President of France – the chair country of the European Council – noted, it was the war and war-related security, first and foremost, that served as the determining factor in the decision. We would like to reiterate that Georgia is ahead of Ukraine and Moldova in all parameters. However, both Ukraine, which is at war, and Moldova, which borders the military conflict zone, required a special expression of solidarity, and it is important that the European Union acted accordingly. Congratulations once again to Ukraine and Moldova which, in addition to the recognition of their European perspective, were granted candidate country status in advance.
Against the backdrop of the EU leaders’ congratulations and festive mood toward Georgia, the opposition’s reaction to yesterday’s decision of the European Council is completely unnatural. The people who celebrated the lost war in 2008 are now mourning the official recognition of Georgia’s European perspective. This is a pattern: the radical opposition is happy with Georgia’s failure and saddened by its success, which is reflected not just in its reactions to events but also in its day-to-day actions.
In order to create negative attitudes among the public, the opposition is running a campaign – based on fakes – claiming that Georgia has lost financial and other material privileges because it failed to receive candidate status at this stage. This campaign is based entirely on falsehood. Namely: candidate as well as potential candidate and associated countries receive material and financial assistance from the European Union on an identical basis and in the same amount. For example, in 2014-2020, the annual funding of five candidate countries averaged 34 EUR per capita, while EU funding for Georgia in the same period amounted to 39 EUR per capita. The funding envisaged for Georgia in the coming years is also identical to the funding provided to candidates. We urge everyone not to create false expectations and not to try to artificially create a negative emotional background among the public with a campaign that is based on falsehoods.
In conclusion, we would like to thank the European Union once again for formally recognizing Georgia’s European perspective. The Georgian Dream will ensure Georgia’s further success on the path of European integration.
We thank the Prime Minister of Georgia, the Parliament of Georgia, the Government of Georgia, and public servants for the work that has been done in order to gain a European perspective.
Most importantly, we thank the people of Georgia – it is due to their progressiveness and pragmatism that Georgia is maintaining peace and double-digit economic growth on the one hand while taking steps toward building a truly European state – as well as toward EU membership – on the other.