On October 18, EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński stressed the importance of holding the upcoming elections in Georgia in a free and fair environment and called on all Georgians to go to the polls, make their choice and remember that they are the ones who decide the future of their country. He also spoke about EU-Georgia relations, the stalled EU integration process, and noted the accelerated anti-EU propaganda spread by the ruling party, which he now sees as a kind of competition between GD members to see who will insult the EU more.
The Ambassador addressed the conclusions of the European Council meeting and underlined the key messages of the document: the EU’s support for Georgia’s goal of EU integration and the current “deplorable” state of EU-Georgian relations, for which “the blame is put on the Georgian authorities who have deliberately over the last several months through actions, statements, legislations” distanced Georgia from EU.
Noting that the elections will be held in a week he stressed that it will be up to Georgians to decide on what future they want for themselves and their children. “Each and every one of you will have a chance to decide if you want Georgia to proceed and become a member of the European Union or not… On our side, we are ready to welcome you. We are ready for Georgia to become a member of the European Union, but this needs to happen based on rules and principles that apply to all of us, the current 27 EU member states, and all countries that want to join. And these rules are very clear – freedom, democracy, rule of law, human rights. These rules are enshrined in European Union treaties and they are non-negotiable,” emphasized the Ambassador.
Amb. Herczyński noted that “elections is a festival of democracy,” and that EU “insists” for elections to be free and fair, for every party to have the opportunity to present its program and compete with each other in a transparent and inclusive environment, for every citizen to have a right of casting his/her vote secretly. “I sincerely hope that people will go out, will vote, that the turnout will be historic high because these elections are essential for Georgia’s future. Please go and vote. This is your right. This is your duty, and this is your choice. You have the power to decide the future of your country, for yourself, and for your children,” he said. “Your vote matters,” emphasized the Ambassador, addressing Georgians.
He also noted that the EU will monitor the elections closely, waiting for the OSCE/ODIHR report and press conference that will be held on the next day and will share the assessment of the elections process, as well as waiting for the opinions of other observers, both local and international. “I can only repeat, it is absolutely essential that elections in Georgia are conducted up to the highest international and European standards, and I sincerely hope that this will be the case.”
Furthermore, the Ambassador stressed that whatever Georgians decide European Union will respect underlining that “this is the biggest difference between European Union and Soviet Union” [allegedly responding to Tbilisi Mayor and GD Secretary General, Kakha Kaladze’s comment made on October 14, when he equated EU to the USSR]. He also added that although the choice will be respected, if Georgia turns into a one-party state with no opposition parties, CSOs, free media, or protection of human rights, Georgia will never become an EU member state, and the EU will have to take additional responsive steps, such as stopping the visa-free regime and/or sanctions.
Regarding EU-Georgia relations and the EU integration process, he reiterated the European Council’s decision made in June this year to stop the accession process as a result of GD’s deliberate actions and decisions. “So, the problem is not in Brussels. The problem is not in Washington. The problem and the solution is not in Kyiv. The problem and the solution are here in Georgia,” he emphasized.
He recalled that in the enlargement report Georgia received when it was granted the candidate country status in November 2023, one of the key demands was to stop anti-Western, anti-EU propaganda. “Unfortunately, throughout last year, those anti-Western, anti-European disinformation has not stopped. On the contrary, I have to share with you as I’m here living in Tbilisi and I’m listening to all your reports, I have an impression that over last several months, we have a competition. We have a contest among the highest officials of Georgian government and Georgian ruling party who would undermine, who would question who’d insult the European Union. This is clearly unacceptable,” stressed the Ambassador.
He emphasized that the EU is a truly successful peaceful project and that the EU made the “difficult” and “brave” decision to open the door for Georgia and share the “peace, stability, development, and prosperity,” “but this can happen only under certain conditions. And, unfortunately, last year has been wasted. Instead of Georgia getting closer to the European Union, the distance has grown even wider… We sincerely hope that after the elections, whoever wins the elections will restart the work towards joining the European Union.”
The Ambassador also discussed what Georgia would lose if it continues on the path it is on now, saying that the government has already lost $121,000,000 in EU aid, adding that if the trajectory of the government does not change “Georgia will lose more and more.” To highlight the benefits of accession, he gave the example of his country – Poland, saying that 20 years ago, before joining the EU, Poland had only 50 km of highways, which now spans 5,000 km, “and this goes for every single sphere of life. Membership in the European Union is the guarantee of peace, stability, development, and prosperity, but the choice is yours,” he concluded.
Herczyński made the comments while speaking to journalists after the event organized by Deutsche Welle Akademie in cooperation with Center for Media, Information and Social Research and Caucasus Open Space. During the event, experts discussed media freedom, media independence, resistance to disinformation, and media literacy in general.
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