EU Ambassador Herczynski: When Georgians are United, Great Things Happen

The Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński, shared his views with Radio Liberty in an exclusive interview following the European Commission’s November 8 positive recommendation on Georgia’s candidate status. Amb. Herczyński expressed his delight at the Commission’s recommendation, emphasizing its significance while stressing that the final decision, which is scheduled for mid-December, rests with the 27 member states.

“Inclusive efforts” of the government

In the interview, the Ambassador noted the Government’s “inclusive efforts to reach out to all stakeholders,” including the opposition and civil society, and noted that a majority of the opposition has returned to Parliament and is actively engaged in discussions.

He said: “To me, it has always been striking that everyone I have met in the last year and a half since my arrival has been very strongly advocated for the status of the candidate for Georgia.”

He stressed the importance of unity despite differences when it comes to European integration. He noted that depolarization was number one on a list of twelve priorities set by the European Commission, and it has been retained in the list of nine steps.

“On this one particular issue [European integration], what would be extremely helpful for Georgia to advance is to have everyone joining forces and working together, and I know that when Georgians are united, great things happen” he added.

The Ambassador said he hopes there will be progress on depolarization, which will require everyone to work together: “The government, which should reach out to the opposition; But it also the opposition, which should very constructively work with the ruling majority on this one particular issue. This is absolutely necessary,” the Ambassador noted.

Russian-styled law

Ambassador Herczyński said that the European Union and many other friends of Georgia had expressed concern over the introduction of the law on transparency of foreign funding (dubbed “Russian Law” by media and CSOs) and said he was “really glad that the ruling majority has decided to unconditionally withdraw” it. Side-stepping the journalists’ comment about continued attacks of the ruling party members against civil society groups, and the security services’ investigation launched against some civil society groups, the Ambassador emphasized the need to move forward from this setback the stressed that the focus now should be on the nine steps outlined by the European Commission.

Heading towards the Council

Asked about the opportunities and risks in the five weeks before the meeting of the Council of the European Union, the Ambassador responded: “We have five weeks. Every single day counts, and I sincerely hope that further progress will be made in Georgia so that not one single member state would have any hesitation, any doubts, about agreeing with the positive recommendation of the European Commission. I sincerely hope we will celebrate on 15 December Georgia having candidate status.”

According to him, the recently published report by the European Commission was many months in the making and noted that “the report is a merit-based assessment.” While highlighting achievements, the Ambassador notes that the report’s primary focus is on identifying areas where further progress is needed. According to him, the report serves as a comprehensive guide for administrations, ministries, and entire governments of candidate countries.

Media law

Asked about the reasons for the recommendation, mentioning the issue of independence of the Communications Commission, Central Election Commission, and the National Bank, the Ambassador noted that the Broadcasting Law is now “fully in line” with European directive, particularly when it comes to hate speech and the rights of minors. The Ambassador underlined the importance of strengthening the independence of the Communications Commission and stressed the importance of independent and professional state institutions in a democracy, especially in the context of the upcoming elections next year.

Independent institutions

Reacting to the question about the National Bank and whether it was mentioned due to recent events concerning the changes in its regulations, the Ambassador emphasized that this matter is mainly the domain of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but highlighted that the resumption of the currently suspended Georgian-IMF program is crucial also for maintaining the European Union’s assistance, including direct support to the Georgian budget.

When it comes to disinformation, which is mentioned among the nine conditions, the Ambassador highlighted the presence in Georgia of “bizarre conspiracy theories,” “most of them […] are coming from outside, but, unfortunately, are repeated and, sometimes, amplified also inside Georgia. Some of them are targeting the European Union.”. Ambassador Herczyński emphasized the importance of active efforts by everyone in Georgia, including the government, to combat these narratives. The goal is to prevent the spread of harmful ideas propagated globally by those with ill intentions toward the EU, he said.

CSFP Compliance

On the issue of Georgia’s limited compliance with the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Ambassador expressed concern about Georgia’s declining convergence in recent years, noting that the country has failed to comply with many of the decisions taken by all 27 EU member states.

He said the European Union understands that Georgia prioritizes the non-recognition policy, which prevents it from aligning with some provisions, but emphasized the expectation of a positive trend of alignment especially as Georgia seeks EU membership. He noted a “slight but still unsatisfactory” increase in alignment in recent weeks, and expressed the hope that Georgia would quickly catch up after getting candidate status.

Sanctions against Russia

To RFE/RL’s question on how important is it for Georgia to comply with EU sanctions against Russia, especially in the coming stages of accession, the Ambassador noted that joining EU sanctions against Russia is important.

He said member states also bear the economic consequences of the sanctions, but that the collective belief in holding Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine has driven the implementation of these sanctions. According to him, this effort includes cooperation with like-minded partners, such as the US and the UK, and within the G7, to put pressure on Russia with the participation of as many international allies as possible.

“Georgia is one of them, and I want to commend Georgia’s position in international organizations when it very clearly supports the isolation of Russia. I want to commend very strict financial sanctions that have been introduced by Georgia, and I want to commend lot of efforts by Georgia in order not to allow the territory of Georgia to be used to circumvent our sanctions against Russia,” Ambassador added.

At the same time, he mentioned that the Georgian government has chosen not to participate in the trade sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia. Noting the importance of trade with Russia, a neighboring state, for Georgia, the Ambassador reminded that other EU members are also bearing economic costs and expressed hope that Georgia’s compliance will be increased.

The Ambassador stressed the importance of Georgia’s compliance with the EU’s strict and unanimous decision to ban all direct flights between the EU and Russia. While recognizing the economic impact on EU member states with citizens in Russia and reliance on Russian tourists, the collective decision reflects a moral obligation to exert maximum pressure on Russia, he said.

Geopolitics or Merit?

When asked about the degree the geopolitical and merit factors influenced the positive recommendation for Georgia, Ambassador Herczyński highlighted two key elements. First, he said the openness and readiness of the European Union to enlarge, was clearly attributable to geopolitics. He said the EU’s willingness to open its doors to new members, including Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, dramatically changed as a result of “Russia’s baseless, unprovoked and extremely brutal invasion of Ukraine.”

When it comes to EC’s positive recommendation to grant candidate status to Georgia, the Ambassador insisted it is based solely on merit. He noted that the Enlargement Report “meticulously outlines the progress” made through reforms and provides a comprehensive assessment of what has been achieved, asserting that the report does not take into account geopolitical factors but instead focuses on a merit-based analysis, detailing both achievements and areas where further reforms are needed.

In this context, the Ambassador side-stepped the question of the journalist saying if fulfilling three out of twelve recommendations was good progress, whether two out of nine should do the trick for getting Georgia the positive Council decision.

People vs Government

The Ambassador also spoke of the important impact of the overwhelming and consistent support of the vast majority of the Georgian population. He said, that despite challenges such as misinformation, conspiracy theories, and foreign propaganda, the retention of the widespread support to EU membership played a critical role in the overall assessment.

He also recognized the importance of “Georgia’s well-prepared and very professional administration,” including experts in various line ministries. Their dedicated efforts, as evidenced by detailed responses to questionnaires and cooperation with European Commission experts, contributed significantly to the demonstration of progress, noted Amb. Herczynski.

He also expressed gratitude to civil society organizations and women MPs for their appeals to the European Commission, which called for Georgia to be granted candidate status. “This is all top of tireless efforts of the whole government, of the President and ministers.” Amb. Herczyński highlighted the efforts of the President, “who has been tirelessly advocating for candidate status in Brussels and EU capitals.” According to him, it’s been a joint effort by everyone, even if, at times, everyone involved in the process didn’t realize the contribution each of them was making to the overall effort. He said he hopes that in the next phase, “All those involved and everyone plays its role, may break those walls [of mistrust], join hands together and work in an inclusive and constructive way together” towards Georgia’s EU membership.

Also Read:

• 13/11/2023 – Georgia’s Progress toward EU Candidate Status: the European Commission’s Assessment
• 08/11/2023  – EU Ambassador: This is a big recognition from the EU, however Important Work Remains to be Done
• 08/11/2023 – Georgian Politicians React to Receiving EU Candidacy Recommendation

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