The April 19 Agreement and political developments in Georgia were topics of the Europe Time interview with MEP Markéta Gregorová (Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance). She encouraged political actors to come to one table (Georgian Dream, UNM, and all the others) and come to an agreement:
Markéta Gregorová: Honestly, even with Charles Michel being in Batumi before the Georgian Dream decision and giving all this time to a relationship between Georgia and the EU, this kinda seems like a beat in the face of the EU. Because this is considered to be an EU-mediated agreement, simply annulling it shows what Georgian Dream thinks of the relationship with the EU. And it is very disappointing.
Of course, there are several possibilities, and microfinance assistance is the obvious one. However, of course, this is something that is done in the standard legislative procedure of the EU. So, it is not something we can do immediately now. It is something we can say that will happen and then when the legislative procedure is going, we can somehow update it based on the current events. Of course, this is also something to discuss among the commission and the council.
The problem of complication here is that most of the employees and people from the council and commission are on holiday because the EU institutions are on holiday during August. So, that complicates a swifter reaction. We are going to get in contact with them and see what can be done, but as far as I can see, the atmosphere around the EU institutions is quite different. I feel like this has taken the attention of all of us, and this will definitely have a strong reaction from the EU.
_Your colleagues call on Georgian Dream to return to the April 19 agreement, but they are not going to change their decision.
In that case, there needs to be an answer from the EU. We cannot be just a tool that is being used when it's convenient. We can be partners, but it is not something that can be used. Of course, if they change their decision, this will be very helpful to the situation, but I do not have any indications that this is going to happen, but that does not mean that I do not wish it.
_What would be your advice to the political actors in Georgia?
The disagreement between the Georgian Dream and UNM is creating more problems and more divisions and I think they should overcome this division because it is not about them, it is about the country and their citizens and they should come to one table (Georgian Dream, UNM and all the others) and come to an agreement. So, it is helping the country to really stabilize because we did not even like live pandemic situations and problems yet and there are already other problems about the existence of a democratic system and that is very disappointing.
Georgia has a plan to apply for EU membership by 2024. We also remember statements that Georgia is farther from the EU than it was 3 months ago. In this regard, how do you view these perspectives?
It might seem so, but I do not think that something has changed in how governments and political actors think about the European Union and Europe. So, maybe this will be hard to say, but the fact that the government put it on paper and they have the ambition to ask for accession to the European Union in 2024, I think it has been just on paper from the beginning and it has never been on their mind. Maybe I am not right and I will be happy not to be correct, but so far it seems like that. It is on the paper, but it is not on their actions. Of course, till 2024 is three years. So, there can be all of these developments. We have seen that developments have been just a couple of months ago. But the politics would need to change greatly for the EU to believe the Georgian government. They want to honestly join the European Union.
_Will you try to synchronize the decisions with the United States?
As I have seen their statements what they think, the US is more disappointed with the developments and exasperated, to be honest. Yes, the talks between the EU institutions and the US are going, but of course, I cannot tell right now what will be the outcome because they do not know the outcome themselves yet. But as for cooperation, we want to help to solve the situation, but we also realize that this is something that we cannot force Georgia to do if the government does not wish so. So, there needs to be bilateral or trilateral will to change the situation.
