Georgia’s Parliamentary Speaker criticizes EU centralization at Budapest Conference

In a pointed address at the Conference of Speakers of Parliaments of EU Member and Partner Countries in Budapest, Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, expressed concerns over what he described as a growing tendency for European Union institutions to impose directives on national parliaments, undermining their sovereignty.

Papuashvili emphasized that while Georgia remained firmly committed to joining the European Union, the country was witnessing "incomprehensible treatment" from some EU structures, which, according to him, “dictate obligations without offering corresponding rights.” "We see a tendency from some EU structures to speak to the parliament elected by the people with directives," he stated.

The Speaker specifically criticized the “push for a foreign-monitored vetting system” for judges in Georgia, arguing that such measures contradicted democratic principles and national sovereignty. "If implemented, this system would contradict the fundamental principle of democracy, according to which power comes from the people," he warned.

Papuashvili also cautioned against an over-centralized EU decision-making process, which he argued could marginalize smaller states. He defended the principle of consensus over majority decision-making, asserting that "the voices of small countries should be heard just like those of the rest, because truth is not measured in numbers alone."