Georgian Vice Speaker slams EU's same sex marriage requirements for Ukraine as “immoral”

Georgia’s First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Giorgi Volski, harshly criticized recent comments by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who said that legalizing same-sex marriage is one of the key requirements for Ukraine’s progress toward European Union membership.

Volski called the demand “shameful” and “immoral,” especially in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, where thousands have died and the country’s infrastructure has been devastated.

“Ukraine is literally swimming in blood. Infrastructure has been destroyed, many young people have died — and despite all that, the message from Europe is that legalizing same-sex marriage is the open door to EU membership,” Volski said. “In this context, such a requirement is not only unacceptable but disgraceful.”

Volski also responded to international criticism of Georgia’s own legislation restricting what it calls “LGBT propaganda,” and the constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

“Georgia has already faced significant criticism for including in its Constitution that a family is formed by the union of a man and a woman,” he said. “But the backlash became even more intense — even hysterical — when we adopted a law limiting LGBT propaganda.”

The Vice Speaker expressed concern that the EU’s focus on LGBTQ rights, especially in times of war and humanitarian crisis, ignores the suffering of people and reveals misplaced priorities.

“They disregard the blood of the Ukrainian people, the destruction, the dead, and this catastrophic war, which could have global consequences — and yet, they insist that Ukraine must first legalize same-sex marriage to continue on its European path,” Volski concluded.