Georgian Parliament official: US House Judiciary report exposes EU’s political interference

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Integration Committee, on Wednesday said the recent report by the US House Judiciary Committee clearly exposed Brussels’ involvement in influencing political processes.

Commenting on the interim report titled “The Threat of Foreign Censorship, Part II: Europe’s Decade-Long Campaign for Global Internet Censorship and How It Harms Freedom of Expression in the United States”, Makhashvili emphasised that the findings officially named and documented the European Commission’s interference in national elections of EU member states.

“If anyone had the illusion that everything in Brussels was fluffy, beautiful, and happened on its own, I think this report has clearly exposed everything and called it by its proper name”, he said.

The official added that while this behaviour was unlikely to change, the exposure allowed Georgia and other countries to be better prepared and protected against such interference in the future.

“We know that when there is a need, for geopolitical or other purposes, Brussels bluntly intervenes in domestic political processes and tries to influence these processes. I am far from the view that this will change anything. Brussels will likely continue to exert its influence in such crude ways, but we now know that these processes occur, and the public will be aware that there is an interest in exerting informal influence. Secondly, both we and any other country will be better prepared and protected against every attempt at such interference”, Makhashvili concluded.