At a briefing held at the government administration, Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, said he was addressing an open letter to the leaders of European institutions.
In his statement, the prime minister placed particular emphasis on recent events in the Danish capital. He said the use of force by police to disperse a peaceful demonstration in Copenhagen — including the use of batons and dogs — had raised serious questions about the democratic standards promoted by the European Union.
Irakli Kobakhidze addressed his remarks to Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa and Roberta Metsola, asking how they assessed the violence that took place in Copenhagen and to what extent such actions were compatible with the democratic and human rights standards the European Union regularly emphasises.
According to Kobakhidze, developments in Europe are linked to “democratic backsliding, economic stagnation, a migration crisis, the erosion of historical memory and the weakening of national identities”.
Several days ago in Copenhagen, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked entrances to the offices of the transport and logistics giant Maersk. The protesters were opposing the company’s alleged involvement in transporting cargo linked to Israel. Danish police used force to clear the area and restore order, including batons, and physically removed demonstrators from the site.
According to Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgia is historically, culturally and in terms of values part of the European space, as well as an EU candidate country seeking “full membership of the European family”. He also said that EU bureaucratic institutions had “unilaterally” suspended political dialogue with Georgia, after which formats for cooperation and discussion proposed by Tbilisi had repeatedly been rejected.
Kobakhidze said that, for Georgia, Europe is more than a political or economic union and is primarily viewed as a shared civilisational and values-based space founded on Christian morality, freedom, equality and democratic principles.
According to the prime minister, the European Union is increasingly ignoring the “natural, cultural and historical foundations” of society, which, in Kobakhidze’s view, is distancing Europe from the principles that made it a symbol of democracy and the protection of human rights.
At the end of the letter, Irakli Kobakhidze said Georgia expected clear answers from the European Union on the direction in which developments within the bloc are moving and what consequences the current crises could have for Europe.
Commentaries
Nika Gvaramia of the opposition party Ahali said:
“It is obvious that everything Kobakhidze said is madness. But it is not simply another empty outburst — although Kobakhidze has already produced plenty of those. No, this is madness carrying dangerous signals:
‘There will be no dialogue with this government’ — this is reportedly the message supporters of Georgian Dream received from Brussels, and they now seem to be waiting for it to be stated openly and publicly. This, in his view, explains the absurd claim that von der Leyen is not a legitimate interlocutor and that the European Union should somehow be viewed separately from her. In short, Kobakhidze’s letter is aimed primarily at a domestic audience, preparing society for yet another defeat.
Part of preparing society for defeat involves messages aimed at deeply conservative groups: ‘They reject us, but we do not need such a Europe either.’ References to ‘the weakening of gender identity’, ‘migration’, ‘the erosion of historical memory’ and the broader narrative that the West has declined while we remain the guardians of Europe’s true values.
An attempt to create a false parallel — the idea that ‘they do the same things’: if we use violence, they use violence too. The question is whether this applies only to past violence, ongoing arrests and political prisoners, or whether new violent crackdowns and politically motivated prison sentences are being planned. We will see soon enough.
A ‘symmetrical’ response to Denmark with an element of the personal: these remarks followed sharp criticism of the Georgian authorities from Danish officials, including the minister for European affairs. We also recall that Kobakhidze himself attended the European Political Community summit in Denmark last year. However, Denmark’s foreign ministry made clear at the time that participation in that format did not alter the EU’s official critical stance on repression in Georgia and the suspension of the country’s EU integration process — putting the Georgian Dream government in an uncomfortable position, and Kobakhidze personally in an especially awkward one.
To sum up: any reasonable person will see Kobakhidze’s open letter as madness deserving only ridicule. But unfortunately, madness is only the form — the substance is a very serious threat: Georgia remains outside Europe.’”
Eka Gigauri, executive director of Transparency International Georgia, said:
“What Kobakhidze did with today’s briefing:
- He created a specific agenda. At a time when many critical issues are dominating public discussion, he shifted public attention in a direction beneficial to himself.
- He once again reminded the public of his main message: that the European Union has turned against Georgia, while democracy in Georgia is supposedly flourishing — everything and everyone is protected, people are living better than ever, and only Europe is looking for reasons to criticise because it refuses to recognise this ‘huge success’.
- He once again repeated the Russian propaganda narrative that Europe is collapsing — there is instability, people are being beaten and arrested, and the economy is struggling. Previously, Germany and Sweden were supposedly ‘under threat’; now Denmark has been added to the list.
In short, the message is simple: ‘Think about what you prefer — Georgian stability or European poverty and instability.’
- He reinforced his own importance by writing a letter to the leaders of European institutions. Although he knows perfectly well that in Europe no one is really interested in his letter — it may not even be read, or at most end up on the desk of some mid-level official.
People in Europe understand perfectly well that whether it is Kobakhidze or someone with another surname, these people merely carry out decisions. In reality, even Bidzina Ivanishvili cannot decide many issues without coordination with Russia. And the fact that his ‘puppets’ shake hands with officials does not mean people fail to understand who really holds influence.
In short, if anyone thinks this was just another routine briefing, it was not. They have several core messages:
- Europe itself abandoned Georgia;
- Think carefully about whether we need such an ‘unstable and immoral’ Europe;
- We stand together with the Patriarchate, we have a conservative agenda and we protect Georgian traditions. There is order in our country.
All of this is clearly reflected in what they say and how frequently they repeat it. It does not matter that they are lying or that there is nothing genuinely Georgian in their actions. Their messaging is consistent, creating the impression that everything they say is true. This is done so their supporters hear it and their loyalty remains intact.”
Kobakhidze on Denmark’s democratic backsliding