Georgian speaker pushes back against EU pressure on Russia policy

The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has called on the European Union (EU) to stop pressuring Georgia to escalate its relations with Russia.

Papuashvili expressed his views in a post on his Facebook page.

“In the midst of an armed conflict, no one, as Brussels has done, should demand that Georgia, which has gone through three wars, escalate relations with Russia,” Papuashvili wrote.

He also emphasised that, to remain a project of peace, the EU should avoid financing extremist activities. Papuashvili stressed that while Georgia aims to join the EU by 2030, it will never compromise its security and national values. “One should not interfere with the values of Georgians, which date back thousands of years, but Brussels did just that,” he added.

Georgia submitted its application for EU membership in March 2022, following Ukraine and Moldova. By June of that year, Ukraine and Moldova had been granted candidate status, while Georgia only achieved candidate status in December 2023.

Subsequently, the European Commission outlined nine steps Georgia must take to qualify for full membership, including addressing political polarisation by involving opposition parties more fully in politics and ensuring a free, competitive, and fair electoral process.

Relations between Tbilisi and Brussels deteriorated in April 2024 after Georgia passed a law on foreign agents. In response, the EU suspended Georgia’s accession process and froze part of its financial assistance, including €30 million allocated to the Georgian Ministry of Defence from the European Peace Fund.

In July 2024, Georgian Parliament First Deputy Speaker Giorgi Volski accused the Baltic states of attempting to draw Georgia into confrontation with Russia and of imposing sanctions due to Tbilisi’s refusal to comply.

Earlier, the European Parliament stated that it did not recognise the current Georgian government as legitimate and demanded that free and fair elections be held. Until these elections take place, Georgia will be unable to join the European Union.

The Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012, won the 2024 parliamentary elections with 53.92% of the vote, though opposition parties refused to recognise the results. Mikheil Kavelashvili was elected as the new president of Georgia, with his inauguration taking place in December 2024.

On July 9, 2025, the European Parliament issued a resolution urging the European Commission and the Council of the EU to review Georgia’s visa-free status, with the possibility of suspension “in case of non-compliance with democratic governance standards and freedoms due to the actions of the ruling party [Georgian Dream].”

By Tamilla Hasanova