Some things may no longer surprise us, but this statement was utterly unacceptable - if we place it in the overall context of the demands of the past period, we will see that Brussels’ position toward candidate countries is as follows: a country should not open its eyes, should not breathe, and should not have its own domestic or foreign policy without them, - this is how Levan Makhashvili, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration, responded to the statement by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.

According to him, if Brussels intends to continue relations with partners using such rigid methods, they will lose their partners.

“Our society has heard many statements from representatives of Brussels. Some things may no longer surprise us, but this statement was utterly unacceptable. If we place it in the overall context of the demands of the past period, we will see that Brussels’ position toward candidate countries is as follows: a country should not open its eyes, should not breathe, and should not have its own domestic or foreign policy without them.

Today we can already summarize well what this erroneous policy has brought to Brussels. They have lost and forfeited relations with China, with Russia, and now, as it seems, with America as well. The local elections in Iceland and Germany show that they are even losing their own populations. If they intend to continue relations with partners using such rigid methods, they will lose their partners as well - and here the conversation is not only about Georgia.

This is the desperate statement of a person or actor who has lost every geopolitical game over the past years,” - Levan Makhashvili stated.

Speaking on the same topic, Makhashvili noted that instead of taking additional erroneous steps, it is time for Brussels simply to stop, rethink its erroneous foreign policy, and try to win the hearts of its partners.

“Society knows well what Trump thinks about the European Union. I would not call the current relations between the US and the European Union partnership. It is impossible to call a partner someone with whom you are in a tariff war, whom you threaten with the seizure of the territory of a member state, and whose leaders you mercilessly criticize.

It was precisely Brussels’ incorrect foreign policy that brought about this state of affairs between the two actors. US-European Union relations are not the first victim - before that there was confrontation with Russia, then with China. This is how Brussels was gradually stripped of its former partners.

The main essence of this statement, the reason it is so rigid, is that they could not explain to their own partners why Brussels is their supporter and friend. Nor could they explain it when they encourage internal revolutions and overthrow attempts, prohibit economic policy, and in fact encourage escalation with Russia. In such circumstances you lose partners.

This is a trend we have been observing over the past five years: major trading partners lost one by one - first Russia, then China, and now America. The more the European Union plays from a losing position on the geopolitical stage, the more rigid its attitude toward partners will be. However, this will not gain it new partners; on the contrary - it will cause it to lose even more.

Therefore, it is time for Brussels simply to stop. Instead of taking additional erroneous steps, simply stop, rethink its erroneous foreign policy, and try to win the hearts of its partners,” - Makhashvili stated.

For reference, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated that candidate countries, in order to join the European Union, must sever ties with Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. “We must not risk that our future members develop dependencies on others that will be in contradiction with our long-term interests,” - Kos stated at an event organized by the Centre for European Policy Studies.