Lelo MP, ex-Parliament Speaker Usupashvili: gov’t in panic, but EU not short-sighted

The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) authorities are in panic. They believe that the EU has no plans to give us a candidate country status and are now trying to shift blame onto others, the Lelo opposition party MP, former Parliament Speaker of Georgia under the GD authorities, David Usupashvili, said on Monday. 

Usupashvili suggested that the EU is not “as short-sighted as the GD thinks,” calling on the authorities “to take genuine steps on Georgia’s EU integration path.” 

“I want to calm down the Georgian Dream and their leaders – do not panic! nothing is lost yet. They (the GD) have already declared that Europe is giving us nothing and are now trying to find a scapegoat. It is better to work where it is necessary, in European capitals, so that the case of Georgia and existing questions can be addressed,” Usupashvili said in response to the government’s allegations that the opposition leaders are lobbying against Georgian interests. 

Usupashvili told the GD that “I assure you Europe is not as short-sighted as you believe.” 

“They [[the EU] see the problems in Georgia, but they also see the unwavering aspiration of the Georgian people towards Europe. They see the importance of Georgia for the whole world and the democratic world. Georgia is facing a very serious chance today. This chance arose in the light of the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, and we need to understand this properly. The topic of Ukraine has led to the opening of the door in Europe to what is called the application and discussion of the membership issue,” Usupashvili said. 

Ukraine was the first who applied for EU membership shortly after the Russian invasion of the country back in February. 

Georgia and Moldova submitted their applications in early March. 

All the three countries have already submitted self-assessment questionnaires and are now waiting for the EU response on the candidate country status next month.