PM Kobakhidze: ‘we can’t allow European integration to be used as tool to blackmail Georgian people’

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said the Government would not allow “certain forces” to use the country’s European integration process as a means of political pressure against the Georgian people.

Speaking in an interview with China’s state broadcaster CCTV on the programme Leaders Talk, Kobakhidze reflected on Georgia’s path toward EU membership and the challenges the country had faced since applying for candidate status in 2022.

“We cannot allow certain forces to use the issue of European integration as a tool to blackmail the Georgian people”, the Prime Minister stated.

Kobakhidze recalled that Georgia’s EU candidate status was initially rejected, saying it ultimately took a year and a half of effort to obtain it.

“It took a year and a half for us to finally receive the candidate status, we had to fight for it. Later, that very status was used as a form of blackmail. Eventually, the same approach was applied to the opening of accession negotiations with the EU, which is not acceptable, as it has led to instability within Georgia”, he explained.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Georgia remained firmly committed to joining the European Union but emphasised that the process must be based on fairness and established principles.

“Of course, our goal remains full EU membership. However, we want to continue on this path only in accordance with the principles of fairness and the rule of law. That is our general approach”, Kobakhidze said.