When some foreign ministers of EU countries and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement mention the “will of the Georgian people” at the latest meeting of EU foreign ministers, it seems they do not have the majority of Georgians in mind – such appropriation of the Georgian people’s will, with gross violations of Georgia’s sovereignty in the name of Europe, is, at best, hypocrisy, and at worst, the annulment of the state, wrote Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Facebook, responding to a statement by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, who claimed that “the Georgian government does not listen to its own people and does not want to follow the European path.”
According to him, “if anyone wants to understand what the Georgian people want, it is enough to look at the results of the October local elections.”
“If anyone wants to understand what the Georgian people want, it is enough to look at the results of the October local elections, in which ‘Georgian Dream’ repeated the results of the 2012 and 2024 elections. In 2012, we received 1,180,000 votes, in 2024 – 1,120,000 votes, and this year – 1,107,000.
All three elections were considered referendums – the first was a choice between Saakashvili’s dictatorship and democracy; the second – between foreign interests and national interests; and the third – between Georgia’s choice and those foreigners who refuse to listen to the voice of the Georgian people.
Any other way or method of presenting the will of the people is, at best, an escape from reality, and at worst, illegal interference in internal affairs.
This is why the statements of European bureaucrats and officials of some countries, where they appeal to the ‘voice of the Georgian people,’ directly contradict the essence of popular democracy.
When some foreign ministers of EU countries and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement mention the ‘will of the Georgian people’ at the latest meeting, it seems they do not have the majority of Georgians in mind. It appears they mean a few foreign-funded ‘NGO activists,’ representatives of marginalized political parties, and their propaganda servants, who have long been attacking the Georgian government in the name of ‘Europe,’ ‘democracy,’ and the ‘West.’ At the same time, they use the most un-European, undemocratic, and un-Western means for these attacks – violence, overthrow attempts, hatred, and political polarization. The entire cynicism lies in the fact that these people, whose political goals align with those of their funders (which is natural), are appointed as the ‘Georgian people’ by some European officials and bureaucrats. But for the Georgian people, they are what they truly represent – marginalized radical groups that incite polarization and hatred in domestic politics.
National sovereignty is the cornerstone of a rules-based international order, and any attempt to undermine it is a violation of international norms, regardless of whether it comes from Russia or any European country. Denying the principle of sovereignty, as a fundamental pillar of international law, is unacceptable.
Every nation has its sensitive points. For us Georgians, who gained independence from the Soviet Union through bloodshed, any violation of our sovereignty is particularly painful. Therefore, we will not tolerate a patronizing attitude toward popular sovereignty from anyone. It is particularly paradoxical that such attempts come from post-Soviet Baltic republics and some post-communist countries.
Such appropriation of the Georgian people’s will, with gross violations of Georgia’s sovereignty in the name of Europe, is, at best, hypocrisy, and at worst, the annulment of the state.
The fact that some European officials resort to the harmful practice of denying the will of the people and instead rely on a handful of foreign-funded politicians and activists tells us more about the alarming state of EU policy than about the Georgian government,” Shalva Papuashvili stated.
For reference, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated that “the Georgian government does not listen to its own people and does not want to follow the European path.”
“We are discussing the alarming developments in Georgia. The Georgian population has shown in the last three elections and ongoing protests, as well as in polls, that they want a European future, but not their government. It seems their government does not listen to its own people and does not want to follow the European path. Opponents, as you know, are imprisoned, and the voices of journalists and civil society organizations are being silenced,” the EU Commissioner noted.
Shalva Papuashvili on Marta Kos’s statement: We will not tolerate a patronizing attitude toward popular sovereignty from anyone – the appropriation of the Georgian people’s will is, at best, hypocrisy, and at worst, the annulment of the state
