Georgian Parliament Speaker accuses Brussels of bias, deliberate sabotage following European Commission report on enlargement

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday criticised the European Commission’s latest enlargement report, accusing Brussels of fusing “worn-out political accusations, lies, hostile rhetoric, and deliberate sabotage” in its assessment of Georgia.

Responding to the European Commission’s enlargement report, which highlighted democratic backsliding in Georgia, Papuashvili recalled the events of October 4, when radical opposition groups attempted to storm the Presidential Palace - a move he claimed was supported by “certain Brussels representatives”.

“Today is November 4, and I want to open my briefing by reminding everyone that exactly one month ago, on October 4, radical political groups - backed by certain Brussels representatives - launched a violent assault on the Presidential Palace. The state narrowly escaped bloodshed and a return to past chaos. It would be good if, even today, we heard a clear, unambiguous position from Brussels on Georgia’s radical groups and on attempts to overthrow the Government - attempts whose threads, not without reason, lead straight back to Brussels itself”, he said.

“This glaring fact is the clearest illustration of the background and attitude that European bureaucracy shows toward the Georgian state, the Georgian people, and their choice. A bureaucracy steeped in a hidden political agenda, arrogant posture, and disrespect toward every country that refuses blind obedience, that tries to take decisions independently and to exercise its sovereign right to govern itself”, the Speaker continued.

The Speaker argued that the Commission’s report was divided into two parts - an objective section describing measurable progress in a neutral tone, and a political section “steeped in aggression and unfairness”.

“A perfect example is the European Commission enlargement report on Georgia, in which stale political accusations, lies, hostile rhetoric, and deliberate sabotage are organically fused. This is the Georgia seen from Brussels’ offices, which has nothing in common with the real Georgia. The EU enlargement report presented today is written in exactly the same spirit - now a tradition - where the Georgia section is stitched with white thread. The part that measures the country’s progress on verifiable parameters is written in an extremely dry, terse style, while the political part is sharply aggressive and unfair. That is why we wish to state clearly: if anyone is suffering backsliding as a result of such an unjust, biased, anti-democratic, polarising, and destructive attitude, it is precisely the EU’s current governing institutions. No wonder Brussels shuns dialogue and prefers an arrogant tone”, he noted.

Papuashvili asserted that the report’s claims about “Russian disinformation”, the parliamentary investigative commission, and the transparency of foreign influence law were distorted and intentionally misleading.

“With the report presented, Brussels accuses Georgia of lying by using an ethnic epithet - claiming we engage in Russian disinformation - while staying silent about the truth: its ambassadors’ interference in our parliamentary elections. The funding, with EU money, of NGOs and disinformation media pursuing a political agenda. The encouragement, with EU money, of hate speech and the language of hatred. It lies about the parliamentary investigative commission, calling it a tool of score-settling against acting opposition figures, and says nothing about the commission’s real purpose - thereby once again taking the side of [former imprisoned President] Saakashvili’s criminal regime and mocking the victims of that regime. It lies about the law on transparency of foreign influence, portraying a document translated word-for-word from Western analogues as a violation of fundamental rights, and says nothing about the truth: that EU money is used to finance radicalism and disinformation. It says nothing because it would have to talk about its own schemes”, Papuashvili said.

“Today we are witnessing a deeply regrettable moment in history, when Brussels is openly moving away from Europe and European values. Brussels is walking away from its own promises and foundations - to protect the European values for whose consolidation it was created in the first place. Instead of a defender of democracy and human rights, we are left holding an ideologised bureaucratic machine that tries to silence critics and cancel opponents, regarding any means as acceptable to achieve that end”, he continued.

The Speaker noted that in 2022 the EU withheld candidate status to spark unrest and today it freezes aid to complete the plan.

“Brussels’ value-backsliding toward Georgia became especially visible in the summer of 2022, when Georgia was denied EU candidate status despite the fact that Georgia was - and still is - clearly ahead of Moldova and Ukraine on every major indicator of integration with the European Union. It is obvious that the aim of this injustice was to provoke unrest in Georgia. Ever since, instead of promoting democracy, economic freedom, social responsibility, peace, and cooperation, we have seen Brussels’ attempts to place the Georgian Government under ideological and political dictate. This dictate is not only ideological. It is politically orchestrated and motivated by certain factions in the Commission and the European Parliament. Moreover, some post-Soviet European politicians are pedalling their narrow geopolitical narratives and interests to force Georgia into a deeper conflict with Russia - at the cost of our own security and territorial integrity. All this is done despite the fact that the most precious European ideal should be peace and conflict resolution, not the sowing and inflaming of war and conflict”, he said.

Papuashvili further suggested that Brussels’ approach reflects a “broader crisis” in European governance, arguing that EU institutions have abandoned their founding values of democracy, sovereignty, and peace in favour of ideological conformity and political coercion.

“Value-backsliding is also obvious in what Brussels does inside Georgia, when it supports groups that promote hate speech instead of reconciliation. Polarisation instead of consensus. Violence instead of dialogue: Among these steps is the rejection of legitimate and democratic elections - with zero evidence - and the trampling underfoot of the reports of the most authoritative election-observation body, OSCE/ODIHR, which has taken a systemic and uninterrupted form since 2020. Another unacceptable step is interference in Georgia’s internal affairs, ostensibly in the name of democracy and human rights, but in reality to support a radical, violent opposition - most of which emerged from Saakashvili’s repressive, dictatorial regime. Brussels’ value-backsliding is evidenced by the support it gives to violent groups that attempted to storm the Presidential Palace on 4 October”, he noted.

“Now Brussels is trying to play the values card, while the Georgian Government and people have a real answer to their demands when it comes to democracy and the rule of law: these are Georgian and European values - tolerance, the rule of law, respect for peace, and development. It is becoming ever clearer that the aim of Brussels’ attitude is to make the people throw up their hands at the EU integration process, so that - following the example of Hungary, Slovakia, and now the Czech Republic - no more countries are admitted that refuse to obey Brussels’ instructions blindly”, the Speaker said.

He further said that threats and pressure would fail and Georgia would fight injustice with facts and never give up.

“Faced with unjust treatment, contradictions, and obstacles, we have had a choice - not only today but throughout our entire history. Blackmail and pressure on Georgia will not work. We have no intention of giving up. Georgia will continue preparing the country for EU membership - not for the European Union that today’s Brussels bureaucracy is emptying of European content and leaving as a mere Union, but for the European Union whose goal is the return of European values”, he noted.

“We see a real awakening in Europe, as countries one after another elect governments and strategies that return the EU to a system of genuine values, that reject Brussels’ unjust and improper interference in internal affairs, national values, the will of the people, real democracy, and the rule of law. We clearly see how Georgia’s future trajectory merges with the EU’s development path based on proper values. We intend to expose injustice, to fight with truth, to show the truth, and to obtain fair treatment. We intend to go all the way”, Papuashvili concluded.