Georgian Parliament Speaker blasts EU over backing of radicalism in Georgia

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday sent a sharply critical letter to EU ambassador Paweł Herczyński on the occasion of Europe Day, accusing the European Union of deepening divisions with Georgia and straying from the founding principles of European unity and peace.

In a letter, Papuashvili congratulated the ambassador on Europe Day but said the date should be used not only for symbolic celebrations, but also for reflection on “what Europe truly represents” and how its values shape relations between Georgia and the EU.

Referring extensively to the 1950 Schuman Declaration by French statesman Robert Schuman, Papuashvili argued that the original vision of the European project was centered on peace, unity, and mutual respect among nations.

“I congratulate you on Europe Day. On this remarkable date, besides symbolic celebrations, we should pause and reflect on what Europe truly represents, how its meaning is lived by citizens, and how it shapes the future of Georgia and the European Union.

Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European Union and the great French statesman, made a historic declaration on this day, on the fifth anniversary of the end of the devastating world war. The Schuman Declaration was rooted in one overriding purpose: to ensure that war would never again devastate Europe. The Declaration’s spirit was clear - peace through unity, cooperation through respect, and stability through shared responsibility. It is precisely against this vision that today’s policies must be measured.

Unlike Robert Schuman, in your Europe Day message to the Georgian people last year, you chose to ignore the anniversary of the end of WWII, and instead, concentrate on your political grievances towards your host nation. However, it is worth remembering that, if not the parents and grandparents of the current generations of Georgians, along with other anti-Fascist nations, Fascism would not be defeated and there would be neither European Union, nor Europe Day. There is not a single family in Georgia that did not sacrifice someone in that war. So, setting apart Europe Day from Victory Day does not work for us. Hence, I hope, at your gathering on 9th of May, you will honor the 300,000 Georgians who sacrificed their lives for Europe free of Fascism.

“A united Europe was not achieved and we had war”. EU leadership’s current actions demonstrate that they refuse to become aware of this important inference from Schuman declaration. Current EU policies leave no space for any interpretation other than that they are aimed at deepening the divisions and widening the disagreements. The unfair and politically motivated resolutions from the European Parliament, incessant threats of political and economic retribution, permanent interference in Georgia’s domestic affairs are only a few of the deliberate attempts to push for conflict within Georgia and in Georgia’s relationship with the EU. A genuinely united Europe is what can prevent not only wars of the future but also end the current wars. However, unfortunately, none of Brussels’ policies to Georgia indicates any serious intention to reach unity between Georgian people and the European Union.

“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan”, said Robert Schuman in his seminal Declaration. Unfortunately, we see now that Schuman’s wise words are being sidelined, and the policies of the European Union are carried out with narrow political interests in mind, based on false and invented ideologies that neglect cultural richness, ideological diversity, and political pluralism of the population of Europe. The attempt to impose a political and ideological straitjacket on Georgia, on its European integration path, is a good illustration of these narrow, barren, and simplistic policies.

Georgian people do not need to be directed towards the European path. Georgia is the co-creator of European civilization, and, therefore, wherever Georgia is, there is Europe too. The process of European integration should not mean Brussels’ unilateral assumption of suzerainty over Georgia but a genuine re-consolidation of our historic ties with the other European nations, as between the equals. Europe Day should also remind us that no ruler of the European Union can simply banish such European ideals as national independence, Christian values, and traditional ways of life only because they have different ideological inclinations. Those who are entertaining the ‘regime change’ ideas with respect to Georgia’s democratically elected government, display complete contradiction with the founding spirit of the European Union. They posit ideologies that are incompatible with human nature, and, while ignoring the differences in traditions, establish the uniformity of ethos.

The idea of the Coal and Steel Community that Robert Schuman proposed on May 9, 1950, had an aim of “contributing to raising living standards and to promoting living achievements”. He understood very well that peace requires a solid economic foundation. The entire European project started from this assumption, after all. However, European leadership seems to have forgotten this very important cornerstone of the foundation of the European Union too. How else can be explained the attempts to persuade the Georgian government to enter into economic warfare with Russia, without offering any security guarantees or economic solidarity? Had the Georgian government been persuaded, those attempts would have caused not only economic devastation in Georgia, but would have also caused a regional turmoil and, thus, left Europe without important energy supplies and geoeconomic access routes.

Deviation from the original European aspirations, enshrined in the very idea of Europe Day, brought the European Union to the point where its policies towards Georgia have narrowed down to supporting violence, hate speech, and radicalism. Last year, I addressed you twice with a call to condemn hate speech and violence, but in vain. The grave consequences of the politically biased policy of turning a blind eye on violence and radicalism, most notoriously evident in the EU press-speaker giving a rhetorical carte blanche to violence, led to a radical group’s attack on the Presidential Palace on October 4 last year. Since then, for more than seven long months, not a single European official has publicly condemned the coup, as if violent coups were normal practice of European politics.

Unacceptable recent remarks about Georgia going to its ‘dark past’, with an implicit menace against our people, epitomize the wrongness of EU’s current policies. However, as seen from the perspective of Georgian people, Europe itself may be heading towards its dark past indeed, which Robert Schuman and other great women and men of his generation tried to never repeat.

Georgia offers a very clear path forward. Halting current offensive rhetoric, rectifying damaging policies, and retracting unfair resolutions can pave the way to a genuine dialogue, prudence, and unity, which reflect indeed the original spirit of Europe Day.

If Europe Day is to retain its meaning, it must once again stand for what it originally embodied: peace, cooperation, and unity grounded in respect for nations and their identities”, the letter said.