Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has questioned Georgia’s place in the European Union, saying that if the EU resembles what he described as developments seen in Denmark, then it raises the question of what role Georgia would have in such a bloc. He made the remarks during a public statement, arguing that Georgia seeks a “different Europe” based on traditional European values.
Kobakhidze also criticized comments attributed to the German ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, saying that no one should “present” such an EU to the ruling party. He claimed that the EU should return to the values on which it was originally founded and rejected what he described as current deviations from those principles.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister offered a historical interpretation of European values, stating that modern human rights systems in Europe were largely established only after the 1940s. He argued that before that period, Europe was marked by wars and serious human rights violations, referencing historical events such as the Inquisition as examples of past injustices.
Kobakhidze concluded that European values, as they exist today, are relatively recent in historical terms and therefore not immutable. He suggested that European institutions should recognize this and that such values could be lost if not maintained, reiterating his view that Georgia supports EU membership only within a framework consistent with what he described as its founding principles.
