PM Kobakhidze highlights ‘declining’ EU share in global economy, criticizes bureaucracy

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said at a government briefing that the current US administration was highlighting trends he had previously discussed regarding global economic shifts, particularly the declining share of the European Union in the world economy.

Kobakhidze noted that the EU’s share fell from 30% in 2008 to 17.5% in 2024, describing the trend as “declining” and pointing to it as evidence of negative economic developments in Europe.

“In the same period, the US economy grew, while the EU’s share decreased from 30% to 17.5%. China’s economy also expanded, rising from 4 trillion dollars in 2008 to about 18 trillion dollars, catching up with the EU. Meanwhile, the US economy has grown from 15 trillion to nearly 30 trillion dollars. This demonstrates the ineffectiveness of European bureaucracy,” Kobakhidze said.

He criticised the EU for focusing on interfering in other countries’ democratic processes rather than addressing its own economic challenges, saying this reflected a loss of sovereignty and will ultimately harm the bloc.

Kobakhidze also linked the trends to issues such as human rights and democracy, citing events in Romania and the work of the British public broadcaster as examples of the “spread of misinformation and negative tendencies” that, in his view, needed to be addressed.