Diplomatic Spat Between Georgia and Europe Continues

Executive Summary:

• The missions of 25 member states of the European Union, along with the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement on September 24, strongly condemning the Georgian government’s “baseless and damaging” statements criticizing their diplomatic missions in Georgia.
• The vast majority of European states oppose Georgian Dream’s policies, which have distanced the Caucasian country from the European Union, despite its candidate status.
• Statements from Georgian Dream leaders demonstrate that the ruling party has no intention of changing its policy, especially after accusing the ambassadors of European states of “interference in internal affairs.”

On  September 24, the embassies and diplomatic missions of 26 European countries issued a joint statement firmly rejecting accusations against their missions in Georgia, marking the first joint diplomatic demarche criticizing Georgia since it gained independence in 1992 (Civil Georgia, September 24). [1] The statement read:

We firmly reject the baseless and damaging accusations about the role and activities of some diplomatic missions in Georgia … We do not support any particular political party, and claims that we support violence and extremism are simply not true … We urge all political leaders to refrain from divisive rhetoric and to work towards de-escalation of tensions (European Commission, September 24).

This statement, which many observers also perceived as a warning, was made in response to the accusations from the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party that Western ambassadors and mission representatives are interfering in Georgia’s internal affairs, meeting with extremist forces who are preparing a coup d’état in Georgia, encouraging and supporting violence, including in the form of bullying, and violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which prohibits interference in a country’s internal affairs (OC Media, September 17).

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili have frequently made such statements (Civil Georgia, September 17). The intensity of the accusations increased with the approach of the October 4 municipal elections, and against the backdrop of the unprecedented protests that have been ongoing in Tbilisi and other Georgian cities for over 300 days against Georgian Dream policies (see EDM, December 6, 10, 2024, January 13, July 15, September 30, October 6). In the opinion of the opposition, Georgian Dream policies are distancing Georgia from the European Union, despite the country still holding candidate status for EU membership.

German Ambassador to Georgia Peter Fisher faced an official summons to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 24, after Papuashvili accused him of “encouraging extremists” (Civil Georgia, September 24). Before entering the ministry, Fischer addressed the media, stating, “A summoning is a form of diplomatic sanction. It is highly unusual between friendly states” (1tv.ge, September 24). The next day, U.K. Ambassador to Georgia Gareth Ward was also summoned to the Georgian Foreign Ministry for “supporting extremist forces” and “encouraging violence.” The U.K. ambassador left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without comment (1tv.ge, September 25).

Khatia Dekanoidze, one of the leaders of Georgia’s main opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), believes that summoning the ambassadors of friendly states to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contradicts Georgia’s fundamental national interests. She stated, “This is the first time in the history of Georgia when partner countries’ ambassadors are summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I can call it disgrace and the violation of our fundamental national interests.” She further argued, “Germany and the United Kingdom are very important countries backing Georgia for years. It is a Russian game. [Georgian Foreign Minister Maka] Botchorishvili is not considered seriously, because the shift in Georgian Dream foreign policy is obvious” (Author’s interview, October 1).

The European Union is visibly toughening its diplomatic demarches against the Georgian government. For example, Botchorishvili was not invited to the European Union’s foreign affairs ministerial meeting, scheduled for October 20 in Luxembourg, despite the presence of foreign ministers from other non-EU member countries in the Black Sea and Central Asia regions (Radio Tavisupleba, September 23).

A prominent supporter of the opposition movement, former Member of Parliament Teona Akubardia, believes that the government’s anti-Western disinformation, as well as its hostile diplomatic actions, demonstrates its goal to accelerate Georgia’s isolation from the West and to silence those ambassadors who openly support Georgian democracy and its European future. Furthermore, Georgian Dream aims to shift responsibility to the West rather than its own regime, which is turning Georgia back toward the Russian orbit. In an interview with this author, Akubardia noted, “All this is happening at a time when the European Union is going to review the conditions Georgia was supposed to meet in October to retain its visa-free regime with Europe; Georgian Dream has not fulfilled any of these conditions” (Author’s interview, September 30).

Citizens of Georgia gained visa-free travel to states within the Schengen Area in 2017, but against the backdrop of recent events, about half of the EU member states now support the abolition of the visa-free regime (see EDM, May 7). Georgian opposition leaders, however, are urging their European colleagues to impose sanctions against the Georgian government, rather than the Georgian people. For example, Davit Avalishvili, from the independent resource Nation.ge, stated in an interview with this author regarding the potential cancellation of the visa-free regime, “No one knows what the reaction to this decision will be among the people who are currently fighting in the streets to preserve the European future.” According to him, such a decision could lead to disappointment, which would only strengthen Georgian Dream’s position (Author’s interview, October 1).

Until today, the only sanction the European Union has imposed on the Georgian government was its decision in January to cancel the visa-free regime for Georgians holding diplomatic passports (European Council, January 27). The European Union has not taken action against Georgian Dream since then, however, as consensus is necessary to impose EU sanctions, and Slovakia and Hungary currently do not support this decision (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 7). It is no coincidence that representatives of these two states did not sign the joint statement of the 26 European states. 

The European Union is approaching the point where it will be forced to make decisions on the topic of Georgia, which has recently become highly problematic for the organization. This is especially true given that the European Union has invested hundreds of millions of euros in Georgia’s democracy and its economy over the past decades.

Note:

[1] These signatories include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.