Parliament of Georgia

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David Usupashvili: Europe expects us to understand our own mistakes

Plenary 07 Jun 2022
David Usupashvili: Europe expects us to understand our own mistakes

David Usupashvili addressed at the plenary session of the Parliament on behalf of the political group "Lelo - Partnership for Georgia" in the format of a so-called Free Tribune on the issues and problems that the country is facing, according to the same political group. According to him, the Georgian people, not the European Union or the United States of America, are the ones who need European standards the most.

"Such a European-style state is capable of adequately caring for our territory and allowing us to serve it while simultaneously offering prosperity, freedom, and security to the Georgian people. Lelo does not inquire if Georgia is deserving of EU membership, nor does it inquire whether Georgians are deserving of healthy air. The importance of European integration, EU membership, and NATO accession for Georgian statehood is comparable to the importance of air for every one of us”, - David Usupashvili stated.

He dwelt on what the Political Group is doing in the direction of the country's European integration and offered the ruling team to send a single message to Europe - "This is a reintroduction of the Charles Michel document. This is the most comprehensive, efficient, and effective option available. Why? Because the EU and Europe have recently declared a state of emergency. Many things that were inconceivable six months ago are now possible, and Europe has admitted to making mistakes as a result of its positions in Georgia during the Russian attack in 2008, as well as its posture during Russia's annexation of Crimea. They have stated that they are willing to evaluate our application for EU candidate status”, - David Usupashvili remarked, focusing on the EU's expectations from Georgia.

"Europe wants us to take similar emergency steps, to come to our senses about where we're heading and whether or not we're headed in the right direction. Europe expects us to learn from our mistakes, whether they occurred during those nine years or in the following nine. They expect to see Georgia's political groups come together on this country's most significant, strategic issue and stop blaming each other. Perhaps the remainder of the time, when the leaders of the European Parliament's political groups issued a joint statement in favor of this status for all three nations, we could address the issues that the EU leaders have raised. Let's put an end to the arrogant claim that Georgia has done everything and now it's up to Europe. That isn't the case because the ruling party has stated that an application would be submitted by 2024, implying that we still have a long way to go. So, rather than admitting that we have earned everything we deserve, the correct approach is to engage in discourse with them and realize that we have difficulties to resolve. Do we not realize we have difficulties to fix until they write it in the resolution?" - David Usupashvili addressed the Parliament.

As the MP noted, recognizing the problems lies in the whole charm of European culture and in the fact that 27 countries stand together and solve problems together.