Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has called for a fair, consistent and merit-based approach to European Union enlargement, warning against politically motivated obstacles facing candidate countries.

Addressing the first conference of speakers of parliaments from EU candidate countries in Belgrade, Papuashvili thanked Serbia's National Assembly and Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada for initiating the gathering, describing parliamentary cooperation as an important element of the EU accession process.

He argued that while accession negotiations are conducted by governments, national parliaments provide the democratic legitimacy necessary for European integration and should play a greater role in coordinating candidate countries' efforts.

Papuashvili said EU enlargement should be viewed as a strategic necessity for Europe's future, citing changing geopolitical and economic realities. He argued that candidate countries should be regarded as active participants in the enlargement process rather than passive recipients of membership decisions.

“The achievements and progress of each candidate country should be assessed fairly, consistently and on the basis of a predictable approach,” Papuashvili said, adding accession conditions should remain clear, progress should be duly recognised and interim benchmarks should not be altered for political reasons.

The Georgian parliamentary speaker criticised the introduction of “new and unexpected conditions” by some EU member states and, at times, by EU institutions. He said such requirements could artificially delay candidate countries' progress and were often driven by domestic political considerations, electoral cycles or bilateral historical disputes rather than objective accession criteria.

Papuashvili also urged candidate countries to avoid viewing one another as competitors, arguing that greater parliamentary cooperation would strengthen their collective voice and help prevent the enlargement process from becoming overly politicised or unnecessarily prolonged.

He said the parliamentary forum should serve as a platform for practical cooperation and joint initiatives rather than a venue for ranking candidate countries or addressing bilateral disputes. According to Papuashvili, a joint declaration expected to be adopted at the conference underscores the participants' commitment to unity rather than division, a message he said Georgia fully supports.

Concluding his address, Papuashvili argued that strengthening the EU's geopolitical and economic position would be best achieved through enlargement into strategically important regions, including the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region.

He said the EU should view enlargement as a historic opportunity for renewal and for restoring its global leadership, rather than as a burden or an act of charity.

Quoting Georgia's national motto, “Strength is in Unity”, Papuashvili called on participants to work together to shape their shared European future.

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