The European Parliament, in its latest report, has practically aligned itself with Russia's occupation policy - while Russia denies Georgia's sovereignty over a fifth of the country's territory, the European Parliament refuses to recognize Georgia's sovereignty over its entire territory, - the Speaker of the Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, stated at the briefing.

According to him, the recent resolutions of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have finally crossed the red lines set by the Georgian people and have blatantly violated Georgia's sovereignty and the principles of national independence.

“In the name of the European Union and using the idea of ​​European integration, the European Parliament has practically underlined the independence and sovereignty won by the Georgian people through struggle and blood, and has insulted the idea of ​​Georgian statehood.

With the report prepared by Rasa Juknevicienė, the European Parliament has effectively stated that the right to determine the legitimacy of the Georgian government does not belong to the Georgian people, but to the political bureaucracy in Brussels; that it is they who can decide who should govern Georgia and which government is acceptable to them.

This is a denial of the fundamental principles of democracy. Democracy is based on the sovereign will of people, while the European Parliament is practically asserting that the Georgian government should be determined by the trust of the EU political elite instead of the choice of the Georgian people. Such an approach reflects the logic of feudal vassalage, not of a union of equal partners, according to which sovereignty is not a natural right of people, but a privilege granted from above.

Thus, in practice, the European Parliament, in its latest report, has aligned itself with Russia’s occupation policy. While Russia denies Georgia’s sovereignty over a fifth of the country’s territory, the European Parliament refuses to recognize Georgia’s sovereignty over its entire territory.

It is also unprecedented that the European Parliament refers to former Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who does not have state authority under the current constitution and legislation, as the legitimate representative of the country, and declares the parliament, government and president elected by people as the “de facto authorities.” Such an attitude is disrespectful towards the two million one hundred thousand voters who expressed their political will in the parliamentary elections,” said Shalva Papuashvili.

In addition, the Speaker of the Parliament noted that the mention of the Church in the European Parliament report in the context of Russian religious networks and influence operations represents the first open attack on the Georgian Church by an official European institution and insults the religious feelings of millions of believers.

According to Papuashvili, it is of principle for them that the European Commission should distance itself from “such a blatant attack on the Georgian Church by the European Parliament.”

“The European Parliament resolution does not only confront Georgia’s democratic institutions. It directly addresses the second historical pillar of the Georgian state – the Georgian Orthodox Church. The mention of the Church in the report in the context of Russian religious networks and influence operations represents the first open attack on the Georgian Church by an official European institution and offends the religious feelings of millions of believers. In addition, this dangerous precedent creates the feeling that the European Parliament, as in other cases, was the first to test the ground for such attacks”, he said.

According to Papuashvili, "it is hypocritical when, on the one hand, the European Parliament condemns the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, while, on the other hand, itself tries to decide the issue of the legitimacy of the Georgian government instead of the Georgian people."

"The latest resolution of the European Parliament once again confirms that the EU bureaucracy has effective steps to take to restore dialogue with Georgia. For this, it is necessary to stop the hostile rhetoric towards the Georgian people and the Georgian Church; to end disinformation against the democratically elected government of Georgia; to fully recognize the state sovereignty of Georgia and to unswervingly uphold the fundamental principles of international law.

It is hypocritical when, on the one hand, the European Parliament condemns the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, while, on the other hand, it itself tries to decide the issue of the legitimacy of the Georgian government instead of the Georgian people. Such selective application of the principles of international law and self-determination of peoples means that the European Parliament refuses to respect the equality of states and the free will of peoples and returns the world to an era when the fate of peoples was determined by the metropolises, and not by the population of these countries themselves,” the Speaker of the Parliament said.