Georgian President calls for fairness, says Georgia’s EU path “value-based”

During a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade, the Georgian President Mikhel Kavelashvili on Thursday reviewed the ties between the two nations as well as Georgia’s “not particularly favourable” relations with the European Union.

In his remarks, Kavelashvili noted that the reason for this kind of relations was the European bureaucracy’s unfair attitude towards the country as well as their double standard.

“Our public and the international community know that the relationship between Georgia and the European Union is not very favourable today, because - to be frank - we consider the attitude that the heads of the European bureaucracy often have towards our country is unfair. There is often a double standard. This is not news to our friendly country, Serbia”, Kavelashvili said.

He emphasised that the Georgian Government’s desire to become a member of the European Union was based on the principle of justice, the values ​​that had been formed in Europe over the centuries and expressed hope that Europe would regain its fundamental values.

“We are a peaceful country. Not a month goes by without Georgia not appearing in international rankings in terms of development. This applies to economic issues, transparency, the judicial system, etc. Therefore, we hope that the European bureaucracy will be a fair descendant of Europe of which we and the Serbian people are a part. Europe is an attractive side for all countries, its history provides an opportunity and an idea that there should be a different attitude”, the President noted.

“Our desire to become a member of the European Union is, first of all, based on that fair principle, those values ​​that have been formed in Europe over the centuries. Therefore, we hope that all this will change in this direction and Europe, the European people will regain fundamental values ​​and become a strong and attractive region again”, he continued.

Kavelashvili underlined dialogue as one of the most important issues that should be pursued with the European Union, for which the Georgian Government was always ready.

“We have a fair attitude towards the European Union and we are always ready to be open so that there is more progress between us and European countries”, he added.

He thanked the Serbian President for the invitation and warm hospitality.

“I would like to thank Mr. Aleksandar for inviting me to this beautiful country, dear to us, Georgians. I am glad to be in Serbia today and I am very happy that you have extended such warm hospitality to me. The history of our countries, diplomatic relations, are 30 years old, and it is also significant that this is my first visit as president. We need to make the relations you talked about even closer”, Kavelashvili said.

“You mentioned that a commission meeting on trade and economic issues is planned in just a few days. I am sure that many issues important to both countries will be discussed. We talked about cooperation in the educational system, relations between young people. We must definitely mention the experience that you and we have accumulated in our relations with the European Union”, he concluded.