Papuashvili Accuses EU Officials of 'Hypocrisy' Over Remarks on People's Will
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Georgian Dream Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has sharply criticized recent comments by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and several European foreign ministers, accusing them of misrepresenting the "will of the Georgian people" and violating the country's sovereignty.
In a Facebook post responding to Kos's statement that "the Georgian government does not listen to its own people and does not want to follow the European path," Papuashvili wrote that such remarks reflect "at best, hypocrisy, and at worst, the annulment of the state."
"When some foreign ministers of EU countries and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement mention the 'will of the Georgian people,' it seems they do not have the majority of Georgians in mind," he said. "Such appropriation of the Georgian people's will, with gross violations of Georgia's sovereignty in the name of Europe, is unacceptable."
Papuashvili argued that the results of Georgia's local elections clearly show public support for the ruling Georgian Dream party. "If anyone wants to understand what the Georgian people want, it is enough to look at the results of the October local elections, in which Georgian Dream repeated the results of the 2012 and 2024 elections," he said, noting that the party received around 1.1 million votes in each contest.
He described all three elections as referendums: "The first was a choice between Saakashvili's dictatorship and democracy; the second between foreign and national interests; and the third between Georgia's choice and those foreigners who refuse to listen to the voice of the Georgian people."
Papuashvili accused some European officials of equating the Georgian people with "a few foreign-funded NGO activists, representatives of marginalized political parties, and their propaganda servants." He claimed these groups "attack the Georgian government in the name of Europe, democracy, and the West," while using "un-European and undemocratic" means such as "violence, overthrow attempts, and political polarization."
"The entire cynicism lies in the fact that these people, whose political goals align with those of their funders, are appointed as the 'Georgian people' by some European officials," he said. "But for the Georgian people, they are marginalized radical groups that incite polarization and hatred in domestic politics."
Papuashvili stressed that "national sovereignty is the cornerstone of a rules-based international order," saying that any attempt to undermine it "is a violation of international norms, regardless of whether it comes from Russia or any European country."
"For us Georgians, who gained independence from the Soviet Union through bloodshed, any violation of our sovereignty is particularly painful," he said. "We will not tolerate a patronizing attitude toward popular sovereignty from anyone." He also described it as "paradoxical" that such criticism comes from "post-Soviet Baltic republics and some post-communist countries."
He concluded that "the fact that some European officials resort to the harmful practice of denying the will of the people and instead rely on a handful of foreign-funded politicians and activists tells us more about the alarming state of EU policy than about the Georgian government."
Earlier, EU Commissioner Marta Kos said the bloc was "discussing the alarming developments in Georgia," adding that "the Georgian population has shown in the last three elections and ongoing protests, as well as in polls, that they want a European future, but not their government." She said the government "does not listen to its own people and does not want to follow the European path," adding that "opponents are imprisoned, and the voices of journalists and civil society organizations are being silenced."
