Ex-head of European Business Association Georgia accuses former EU ambassador of exerting pressure to quit

David Lee, the former CEO of the European Business Association Georgia, claims he had to quit his European-Union funded job because of the “pressure” by the former EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell. 

Lee told Imedi TV on Monday that while in office Hartzell called him in the embassy headquarters in April and told him that he would no longer work with the organization if he remained as CEO. 

He accused MEP Andrius Kubilius of telling the former ambassador not to work with EBA Georgia under him because of Lee’s “political statements and criticism of corrupt domestic organizations like Transparency International Georgia”.

“I was copying Kubilius’ posts. I do not know if these posts have been deleted or not, but the MEP told EU Ambassador Hartzell not to work with the European Business Association”, Lee said. 

He says that a meeting with Hartzell, whose term expired in the summer, was closed, and noted, however, that the embassy personnel had “evidence” the diplomat had exercised pressure on him. 

“They have citations and they exist. It was a closed meeting. I can not  prove it. It is my word against their word, but they have records in terms of what the ambassador told me that he no longer wanted to take the risk if I stayed in office,” said Lee and noted that Kubilius was the “only MEP” tweeting about him and that is why he was sure Kubilius had pushed the ambassador to take the step than anyone else. 

He noted that as far as he could remember, a deputy ambassador was making records of the meeting.