Georgian PM: “EU doesn’t care about democracy”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the European Union of applying double standards in matters of democracy and human rights.

Speaking on Rustavi 2, he said “the European Union does not care about democracy”, citing the cases of Ukraine, Moldova, and others as evidence, Caliber.Az reports.

“Wasn’t it also visible in the case of Georgia in 2004–2012, when prisoners were openly tortured, and things were done that I will not even talk about? The EU simply did not care about democracy and human rights at that time — it did not care about anything,” he noted.

Kobakhidze added that the EU grants candidate status and opens negotiations with countries where, in his view, violations similar to past practices in Georgia are taking place.

He also claimed that Georgia is ahead of several EU candidate countries in terms of human rights protection, rule of law, anti-corruption efforts, and economic performance.

As examples, he pointed to Ukraine and Moldova, alleging restrictions on opposition parties and the closure of television channels in those countries.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov