Georgia’s EU U-turn
Georgian Defence Ministry fires at least five people who signed pro-EU petition
The dismissals follow media reports in recent months that the Defence Ministry would be undergoing a ‘reorganisation’.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has accused the EU of being ‘very unfair’ to the Georgian government while insisting the situation with both Georgia and Hungary ‘has totally changed’ under the new administration in the US.
In an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) on Monday, Szijjártó threw his full support behind Georgia’s ruling party.
Hungary has long been Georgian Dream’s strongest backer in the EU.
Most recently, it was accused of directly meddling in Georgian domestic politics to help the ruling party secure another term in the October 2024 parliamentary elections, and, along with fellow EU-outlier Slovakia, blocked the subsequent sanctions and other punitive measures that followed the election, deemed by the European Parliament to be illegitimate.
Drawing comparisons between Georgian Dream and the ruling Hungarian party Fidesz, headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Szijjártó said ‘the reason for [the EU’s unfair treatment of Georgia] is very simple’.
‘In Brussels, all patriotic, conservative, right-wing governments are being hated. In case your opposition had won the elections Brussels would have been very happy’, he continued.
Dismissing the widespread allegations of electoral fraud, Szijjártó claimed that efforts to sanction Georgian Dream officials were based on the EU’s distaste for ‘patriotic or conservative politicians’.
‘We have been in office for 15 years now, and we have been under continuous attack for 15 years just because of carrying out patriotic conservative policies in which we put national interest as number one’, he said, again drawing a parallel to the ongoing dispute between the EU and Hungary and brushing aside concerns about democratic backsliding under Orbán.
Szijjártó also said that Hungary and Georgia are ‘working together in the international arena very well’, citing their support for the US-sponsored UN resolution on Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, which was widely criticised for failing to name Russia as the aggressor.
The day after Szijjártó’s interview, Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili said she had just met with her Hungarian and Slovak counterparts, both of whom ‘fully support Georgia’ and reject the EU’s ‘unjustified criticism’ of Tbilisi.
‘We all agree that Brussels’ unfair stance towards Georgia is the primary obstacle to the country’s European integration’, she said.
Did Hungary help hand Georgian Dream victory in the disputed parliamentary elections?
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party have become deeply involved in Georgian domestic politics, both publicly and behind closed doors.
Nate Ostiller
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