Georgian officials criticise EU's selective approach on enlargement

Members of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party have voiced strong criticism of the European Union's recent stance on Georgia's bid for EU membership, accusing the bloc of selective and politically motivated decision-making.

Last week, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union published a document outlining its conclusions on enlargement issues, in which it stated that the actions taken by Georgian authorities did not meet the EU's expectations for a candidate country. In response, Georgian officials expressed disappointment, noting what they described as a double standard in the EU’s approach to Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, Caliber.Az reports via Georgian media. 

Irakli Kadagishvili, a member of parliament from the ruling party, argued that the EU was undermining the core values it claims to uphold by acting selectively, based on its own interests. He suggested that such actions "devalued the very concept of the European Union," which, according to Kadagishvili, should be grounded in fairness and consistency.

Additionally, the Georgian Dream party highlighted what it perceived as inconsistencies in the EU’s treatment of Georgia compared to other candidate countries. While the document criticised Georgia for failing to meet EU expectations, it did not mention concerns over corruption or human rights in relation to Ukraine and Moldova, issues that have been raised in the past.

Levan Makhashvili, the head of the parliamentary committee on European integration, also criticised the European Commission’s approach. He claimed that the EU's assessment of Georgia was not an objective evaluation of the facts but rather a tool for political pressure.

Makhashvili emphasised that the Georgian population was well aware of the situation regarding human rights and corruption in both Georgia and its neighboring countries, yet the EU's document omitted these issues entirely, which he believed reflected a biased and unfair assessment.

By Sabina Mammadli