German Ambassador to Georgia Peter Fischer said in an exclusive interview with BMG that the EU will not open the accession negotiations for Georgia as long as the controversial Foreign Agents Law stands. BMG’s General Producer Giorgi Isakadze and Elene Kvanchilashvili, Host & the Author of a talk-show “Analytics” conducted the interview on May 29, a day after the bill has been adopted by the Parliament through overcoming President’s veto.
“Georgia is a candidate country since last December. It was a historic step for both sides – Georgia and the EU, and the next step would be to open accession negotiations. However, Georgian government passed the law that is incompatible with the EU standards. As long as this law stands we will not open accession negotiations for Georgia. This is where Georgia stands” – said the Ambassador.
The Ambassador touched upon the current political mood in Europe which at this point stands for Georgia’s integration; however, also mentioned that this chance may not last forever. According to Peter Fischer, one reason for that might be a fact that different governments that may come to power in Europe may have different perspectives on the enlargement.
“Window for enlargement opened for Georgia when Russia attacked Ukraine. There are big debates – enlargement or deepening? Now we say we need both. This window is open now, but it can close, too. It can be that governments come to power in the EU member states, this year, next year for 5 years who are less favorable to enlargement” – Peter Fischer told BMG.
According to the Ambassador, no progress has been made on the EU’s nine recommendations to Georgia; more so – he said - the Foreign Agents Law violates these very recommendations, adding that Georgia used to be a leader among the ten EU candidate countries, but the picture had changed.
“Progress is almost zero – said the Ambassador - EC said candidate status is given on the understanding that these 9 points would be fulfilled. That means the candidate status is in this formulation, in some way connected to the fulfillment of the 9 points. We see a clear step away from the 9 points with this legislation. There are 10 candidate countries now. Georgia used to be a frontrunner: Now, Georgia’s at the end - the last car on the train”.
Drawing upon the Venice Commission’s opinion, Ambassador of Germany to Georgia once again reiterated that the controversial Foreign Agents Law goes against the fundamental rights of Georgians.
“Any lawyer, in fact any citizen, anyone can understand grossly disproportionate interference in fundamental rights is something you shouldn’t do. There are other ways to deal with the issue of transparency” – Peter Fischer told BMG.
The Ambassador also emphasized that Georgia needs to meet the EU standards in order to continue on its integration path.
“If you want to join a Union but at the same time criticize it as being somehow dangerous, global war party; it’s not my term. I don’t like that term. I don’t think it exists; then we have to ask ourselves – can we do business as usual? Are we now partners or are we no longer partners? That’s up to Georgian government to decide” – Peter Fischer said.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze responded to BMG’s exclusive interview and the Ambassador himself. He criticized a statement by Peter Fischer. In his response, Kobakhidze said he “cannot attach much importance” to the Ambassador’s statement, alleging the diplomat was “involved in the election campaign” of the domestic opposition Lelo party ahead of the parliamentary elections in October.
“On the backdrop of such frivolous actions, I cannot attach much importance to this person's statement”, the PM said, adding Germany, which he said had “traditionally been distinguished as a responsible” state, “should not send such ambassadors to a country like Georgia”. He added an “ambassador who makes anti-Georgian statements will not be valuable to us”, and said he hoped the statement was a reflection of a “personal position of the Ambassador who supports Lelo”.
As for the anticipated sanctions against the responsible Georgian officials, Peter Fischer noted that the sanction is a “broad” term with a negative reaction.
According to him, the first reaction is to tell the officials that with this law Georgia cannot join the EU. The Ambassador chose not to elaborate further on sanctions; however, underlined once again that the EU is an organization with its own rules and contract.
“Accession process to the EU has nothing to do with family, or how we feel, or what our internal sentiment is. It’s a legal process. You are not joining a family; you are joining an organization, which has a contract, written rules for joining. And the main rule is – you will have to fulfill our standard. We will extend our hand of support like we did for over 30 years” – the Ambassador told BMG.
Asked about the upcoming Parliamentary elections in Georgia, Peter Fischer noted that the failure to hold them in a proper manner would be against 9 points. The Ambassador urged Georgian citizens to go out and vote and use this opportunity to be heard.
“Free and fair elections are central requirement also for joining the EU. If there’s any doubt about the elections, it will be another point where we will have to say – well, that’s not the standard that we expect. It means no progress. The elections are of key importance at this time when the population seems to be saying – we are in front of a fundamental decision which way our country should go. And I don’t think it’s interfering in elections when I say when I appeal to all citizens - this is your right, and in a way, it’s your democratic duty- to inform yourself, and make a decision and go for it. This is what we tell our own citizens and as a citizen from a friendly country, that will be my message – make use of this vote, future is in your own hands” – the Ambassador said.
Later, Michael Roth, a Chair of Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee responded to the BMG’s exclusive interview, the Ambassador of Germany himself and Prime Minister Kobakhidze’s criticism on X stating: “I fully support Ambassador Peter Fischer. He just told the facts”.
During the interview, the German Ambassador also talked about the positive impact that the EU integration process has on the business environment in a country, noting that “EU countries like to do business with EU countries”. For this and more watch The Checkpoints. bm. ge will give you more updates after the full interview is aired on BMG social media platforms on Sunday, 11 am.
