Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze Hopes for EU Negotiations on Georgia's Membership
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze expressed his hope that negotiations for Georgia's membership in the European Union will commence soon, indicating that a refusal would suggest a negative attitude towards the Georgian people. He shared these remarks with journalists following the fourth summit of the European Political Community.
Kobakhidze mentioned his interactions with approximately 20 political leaders during the summit, including Josep Borrell and French President Emmanuel Macron. He described these discussions as productive and noted that they provided reasons for optimism about Georgia's European integration prospects.
"I had the opportunity [at the fourth summit of European Political Community] to talk to about 20 political leaders, for quite a long time, within the framework of this summit. When it comes to Maia Sandu's meeting, these meetings were held in the so-called buffet, where politicians were sitting and talking. I had a meeting in the 'buffet', both outside and inside. I had these meetings everywhere. I can list the people I met, including Josep Borrell, with whom I had an interesting conversation. I heard some interesting messages that I can't voice because I have to protect the privacy. There were many presidents and prime ministers with whom I had the opportunity to talk. President Macron was sitting next to me, with whom I had the opportunity to talk and I used this opportunity. I saw the overall picture, which gives me a reason for optimism and a reason to say that these misunderstandings are temporary, and as soon as the war in Ukraine ends, these misunderstandings will also end. Among other things, the mood that I saw among the European leaders at this summit allows me to say this."
The Prime Minister highlighted a perceived inconsistency in the EU's approach, noting that Moldova, a CIS member country, was allowed to open negotiations despite facing significant challenges in political and media pluralism, democracy, and corruption.
"As for whether the negotiations will open in October, that is up to the EU. I hope that the Georgian people will not be refused to open negotiations. If it happens otherwise, it turns out that there is a wrong attitude towards the Georgian people. You see the injustice, they opened negotiations for a CIS member country, Moldova, with zero political and media pluralism, with serious problems in terms of democracy, corruption. And they refused us. This is a complete injustice. The only explanation and reason for this injustice is different interests. As soon as the interests change, the approaches to Georgia will immediately change and the negotiations will be opened immediately," said Kobakhidze.
