On October 22, the EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński spoke about the upcoming elections and EU-Georgian relations at an event organized by Social Justice Center and CRRC-Georgia during which the organizations presented findings on “judicial oversight of covert surveillance measures in Georgia and government-promoted anti-Western narratives on social media.”
Speaking about the event, the EU Ambassador emphasized the European Union’s support for the development of civilian oversight of the security sector in Georgia, which is one of the steps outlined in the European Commission’s nine steps. “Security sector reform is a long-term process requiring everyone to cooperate, especially when it comes to the parliamentary oversight of security forces, judicial oversight. And, unfortunately, in case of Georgia, there is still a lot to be done,” stressed Ambassador Herczyński.
The Ambassador also spoke about the upcoming elections, emphasizing that elections in general are a “festival of democracy”, saying that they let people choose their and their children’s future. “Please go out, please vote, and please choose a government that would represent your desires, your wishes, your aspirations.”
He mentioned the rally held on October 20, saying that as an EU Ambassador he felt pride, joy and happiness seeing so many flags. “Everyone was there and I saw so many young people. Young people, your children, they deserve a better future, they deserve to have opportunities here in Georgia, they should not look for a better life somewhere else, they should have the opportunity to stay, to live, to work in their beautiful Sakartvelo.”
Speaking about EU-Georgia relations, he reiterated his regret that they are at a “historic low” and that the EU integration process has been stopped due to the government’s actions. He said that Moldova is an example of how the actions of the government can be overwhelmed by the voices of the people, stressing that the results of the European referendum there showed how every vote can be decisive.
He said that every country that has joined European Union over its history has been given a possibility for a great leap forward. “I sincerely hope that this will also be the case of Georgia. But, this is in your heads, on our side, on the side of European Union. We have made it loud and clear. We have taken a decision last December to open our doors for you, for Georgia. We are waiting for you, but you need to go through these doors yourself. No one can do it for you. No one can do it instead of it. It’s for you to decide. This is your country. This is your choice,” stressed the Ambassador.
Finally, Ambassador Herczyński was asked whether the EU plans to cooperate with Georgian Dream in case of its victory in the elections, to which he replied: “At European Union, we will respect whatever choice will be made by you, by Georgians. It is not for the European Union to decide on the political, decisions before elections, during elections, or after elections… I have full trust in the choice of Georgian people, whatever will be the outcome of the elections provided elections will be free and fair, we will respect this outcome and we will work with any democratically elected government of Georgia.”
Also Read:
- 18/10/2024 – EU Amb. Talks Decisive Elections, GD’s Anti-EU Propaganda, EU-Georgian Relations
- 07/10/2024 – Herczyński: EC Recommendation to Open EU Accession Talks With Georgia “Highly Unlikely”
- 04/10/2024 – EU Amb. Herczyński Ties Georgia’s Future to Elections, Slams GD’s Propaganda
- 20/09/2024 – EU Ambassador Stresses Free and Fair Elections in Georgia, Warns of Possible Consequences