Kobakhidze defends foreign agent laws
Irakli Kobakhidze used a Euronews summit on EU enlargement to defend Georgia’s decision to stop accession talks, which his government formally halted in November 2024. This decision followed a June 2024 suspension of dialogue by the EU Commission. Maria Tadeo, the Euronews Chief Europe Editor, asked Kobakhidze why he attended the forum after halting the talks, to which he claimed the EU Commission used candidate status and accession talks to "blackmail Georgia" and the Georgian society. He insisted that the law on transparency of foreign influence remains fully in line with European legal standards. This legislation, which restricts funding to civil society and independent media, requires non-governmental organisations to submit financial reports to the Ministry of Justice once a year. Kobakhidze told journalists that US and EU ambassadors were "shamefully lying" when they called the legislation a "Russian law," and he added that "Suspending a law is not a solution, because […] it runs against the principle of sovereignty". Tadeo noted that the Venice Commission and the European Commission report the laws are incompatible with EU values, which he dismissed by saying he is optimistic that European bureaucrats will change. The camera showed the Georgian delegation laughing in the audience after he made this remark. The ruling Georgian Dream party suspended the country’s EU membership bid in 2024 amid a wider barrage of repressive laws and regulations targeting civil society, the political opposition, and media.
Claims of hypocrisy and wasted funds
The Georgian delegation faced sharp criticism from opposition politician Khatia Dekanoidze, who accused the Georgian Dream party of "wasting Georgian taxpayers’ money" to "humiliate themselves and go shopping" in Brussels. Kobakhidze also used the interview to challenge the EU on protest tactics. He requested an explanation for why EU officials supposedly support the use of Molotov cocktails in Georgian protests but condemn their use in recent protests in France. While many EU officials supported the Georgian protest movement, none are known to have supported demonstrators’ use of Molotov cocktails. When Maria Tadeo asked about the intention to ban five major opposition groups through the Constitutional Court, Kobakhidze described the matter as a "legal case" and suggested the EU Council make "legal" instead of "political" comments. Tadeo noted that the talks have not occurred for two years, but Kobakhidze insisted that Tbilisi and Brussels "should start talking" to define what must change on both sides. When asked for his plan to pursue membership, the Prime Minister said it was "talking, talking, talking". Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili stated the Euronews event provided an opportunity to reaffirm Georgia’s readiness for dialogue and indicated that Brussels has an interest in listening to Georgia. The Georgian leader also said that Tadeo had not been adequately informed when asking questions about domestic legislation and decried the "European bureaucracy" for condemning his party’s foreign agent laws.
