Georgian Parliament Speaker slams Maia Sandu, says “Georgia’s European path is path of independent state, not its abolition”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday criticised Moldovan President Maia Sandu, saying that a President’s intention to vote against her own country’s independence “makes everything clear”.

Papuashvili’s remarks came after Sandu had stated that she would support Moldova’s reunification with Romania, noting that for a country as small as Moldova, it was becoming increasingly difficult to survive as a sovereign state.

In a social media message, the Speaker argued that Sandu’s position signals skepticism about Moldova’s prospects of joining the European Union as an independent state, suggesting that the Moldovan President was looking toward a “GDR scenario” - a path similar to that of the former German Democratic Republic, which entered the European Union through reunification with the Federal Republic of Germany.

“When a country’s President [Maia Sandu] is ready to vote against her own country’s independence, everything is clear. From this perspective, yes, we indeed lag behind Moldova. But we cannot give up our three thousand years of history, which prove that if you believe in your national identity, even a ‘small country’ can preserve its statehood through the fires of history”, he said.

Papuashvili added that Sandu’s remarks indicate doubt about Moldova’s ability to join the EU independently and instead point toward a path that leads to Europe “through the loss of sovereignty”.

“At the same time, this statement clearly indicates that Moldova’s President herself views the prospect of joining the EU independently with skepticism and is glancing toward the GDR scenario - the path that led the German Democratic Republic into the European Union on the very day it was merged with the Federal Republic of Germany”, the Speaker continued.

Papuashvili further noted that this was also a path toward Europe - but one achieved through the loss of sovereignty, adding that Georgia’s homegrown “hyper-Europeans” likely had one or two countries in mind to which they would readily hand over the country’s sovereignty.

“For us, however, the issue is simple: Georgia’s European path is the path of an independent state, not its abolition”, the Speaker said.

In a postscript, Papuashvili also recalled that on October 4, at the exact time when an assault on the Georgian President’s Palace was underway, Maia Sandu publicly expressed support for violent groups involved in attempts to overthrow the Government.