In an exclusive interview, Georgian Ambassador to the European Union Vakhtang Makharoblishvili discussed the country’s political situation and the EU agenda, the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit on December 15 and the ambitious “trio” format.
Wahtang Mahaloblishvili Recently took over as Representative E of GeorgiaYou and the ambassador Belgium and Luxembourg. Prior to this, he was the first deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
He talked with Georgi Gotev, EURACTIV’s senior editor.
Can you tell us about the diplomatic activities between Georgia and the EU, more specifically before the Eastern Partnership Summit?
I only took this position a few months ago, but luckily I am no stranger to these topics. Because the diversity of EU-Georgian cooperation is very intense today, I will say full. Our overall goal is to prepare for 2024. As you know, after the appeal of Georgian society, the government promised to submit an application for EU membership in 2024. Our job is to ensure that we are prepared to the greatest extent possible.
The alliance agreement will certainly remain the pillar of the Georgian EU integration process. In this sense, we will work hard to speed up its implementation. Of course I will emphasize the importance of social methods. According to estimates by us and our EU colleagues, we have included approximately 30-35% of EU acquisitions into Georgian legislation. But we are entering some painful stages of reform, especially for the private sector. Despite the polarization in Georgia, it is extremely important to consolidate the political system under the goal of EU integration.
What you said reflects the general impression in Brussels that Georgia is a very pro-European and ambitious country, but you still have your internal problems. The President of the European Council Charles Michel participated in an unusual mediation process, which is not over yet. What can we expect?
Sometimes I heard in Brussels that the participation of the President of the Security Council was not successful, but I totally disagree.He came to Georgia at a very critical time, after the war between our neighboring countries [Azerbaijan and Armenia, over Nagorno-Karabakh]Of course, this visit is an important message for the region. But this is also extremely important for Georgia. Just before his arrival, we encountered long-term resistance from most political parties to the parliament. After his visit, political life has returned to where it should be-in parliament. He made it possible. In addition, the agreements between political forces he helped sign were basically successful. Most of the content of the agreement has either been implemented or is in the pipeline. I am referring to the electoral law, the release of some prisoners, and constitutional amendments that involve election thresholds.
The power-sharing action has not yet been realized, but it is certainly ready to do so. Perhaps local elections hinder the implementation of this, but it may be implemented in the next few months. There is also a point in judicial reform, and there are some explanations on the implementation level, but of course, this process is still going on. The important thing is to have inclusive participation, and I hope this chapter will also end in a positive way.
The main goal of the agreement is to reduce polarization. In this sense, it did not meet our expectations. Despite going back and forth, the reform agenda still exists.The strength of the EU-Georgian relationship has been maintained, and we have been able to take advantage of new opportunities: I will refer to the signing of the agreement Creative Europe and Horizon europe, The latter’s total budget is 95 billion euros.
Your Prime Minister Irakli Garibashivili will attend the Eastern Partnership Summit. What are your expectations for this event?
This summit is very important. The last time was in 2017. We held a leadership meeting in 2020, but since 2017 we have not held a physical gathering of the summit declaration. It is important to evaluate the challenges and opportunities, but it is also important to look forward. In our view, the summit declaration and the summit itself should be forward-looking and far-sighted.
In order to make the Eastern Partnership attractive to everyone, it is important to adhere to principles such as differentiation. In this context, the organically developed Associated Trio element in recent months is very natural.These are three countries that have signed relevant agreements, including DCFTA [Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine], And many of these documents require a deeper dialogue with the EU. We are very happy that we have held a ministerial meeting under DCFTA, but of course we look forward to identifying the new department. The three prime ministers who recently met with the presidents of the three major EU institutions visited Brussels, which provided a good opportunity to discuss these new areas and areas. The next three countries should not harm anyone. All three of our countries are multipliers. Our success will be the decisive factor in decisions about others.
Are you satisfied with the possibility of EAP countries participating in drafting the summit declaration?
This is an interesting and difficult question. For us, we said from the beginning that we needed to share the draft document as soon as possible, but we did not share it soon. I know this is not a simple process within the EU, because all member states need to agree to the draft before sharing with partners. But we also want to avoid situations where we accept or give up. Now our situation is that we have two days, but the documents have not yet reached an agreement. My position is that we should always have more time for discussion. Honestly, we haven’t got there yet.
What do you want to see in the file?
For us, it is important to prove that things have evolved since 2017 and we need new elements.
Do you want to add a security element? Or other elements?
Yes, I know that the EU has not paid much attention to the security level, at least so far, but the region faces so many security challenges, we look forward to and hope to see some security elements in the document. The European Union is a strong supporter of our territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders. The European Union is part of the process of contact with the people living in the occupied territories of Georgia, so yes, we look forward to such a commitment. We certainly look forward to discussing security issues. Because this is the summit of the European continent, the European Union and its neighbors in Eastern Europe, we are an area interested in a strong, consistent and unified Europe.
This should be a good opportunity to discuss our challenges, starting with Covid-19, economic recovery, and security challenges and mixed challenges. The Black Sea is the sea of Europe. We firmly believe that the Black Sea should not be an area of confrontation, but a sea of development, prosperity, and interconnection. I think connectivity is a very important topic at the summit, but it’s not only that. For Georgia, this is one of the first tasks, because we have no physical borders with the EU, and we are looking forward to reducing the physical distance by developing the potential of the Black Sea, whether it is ferry connections, energy routes, or digital connections. In this sense, the new European investment plan is very important. It is not surprising if three of the five flagship projects we discussed with the EU under the investment plan are directly related to infrastructure connectivity.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
