The chairman of the Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, said at a briefing that they had decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. In addition, as he says, they are still refusing any budget grant that Georgia receives from the European Union.
Before that, Kobakhidze made anti-Western statements and criticized European politicians. According to him, Georgia’s “ill-wishers” have turned the European Parliament into a “naked weapon of blackmail” against Georgia, which is “the greatest shame of the European Union”. As an argument, Kobakhidze cites the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament in response to the Georgian Dream’s anti-democratic steps.
“Over the past 3 years, the European Parliament has adopted 5 resolutions full of lies and insults, which were not shared by the Georgian public, the European Commission, or even the European Council,” Kobakhidze claims.
In addition, Kobakhidze accused European politicians of attempting to organize a revolution in the country, in which, they were using their candidate status. Also, Kobakhidze claims that organizations that receive funding from the EU were openly involved in this. According to him, this is the reason for the decision.
As the chairman says, they continue to move towards the EU, but they will not allow anyone to leave Georgia “in a state of constant blackmail and manipulation.”
“We believe that our decision today will make a significant contribution to the improvement of relations between Georgia and the EU. We must clearly show to the relevant European politicians and bureaucrats, who are completely devoid of European values, that they should not talk to Georgia with blackmail and insults, but with dignity. Using the issue of opening negotiations as a tool to divide and manipulate society is causing serious reputational damage to the EU in Georgia. Our decision today will prevent the EU from suffering this reputational damage in the future,” says Kobakhidze.
Despite everything, Kobakhidze claims that by 2030, Georgia will be “more ready than all candidate countries” to join the European Union.