Parliament Speaker says Georgia in “clear leadership” over EU candidate, member states in governance

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday emphasised the country led other candidate states for European Union membership and even the bloc’s member states in governance indices, amid what he called "false narratives" and "unfounded accusations circulating in the West” against the country.

Addressing recent research findings from the Spanish Institute of Governance Coordination and Applied Economics, which had highlighted the country’s “significant progress” in reforms, Papuashvili said “when it comes to facts and reality, Georgia’s leadership is clear”.

• Spanish institute: Georgia leading Ukraine, Moldova in reforms amid EU “reluctance” on accession talks

The Parliament Speaker noted while a “wave of disinformation used to come from the North”, in recent years, and especially since the start of the war in Ukraine, “false narratives” had been spreading “from the West” against Georgia.

Various politicians and political groups are making direct false accusations against the country, portraying it as experiencing a democratic setback. Every time, either research or the European Court of Human Rights shows this to be a lie. [However,] none of the diplomats, donors, or foreign politicians who spread false narratives about the country have apologised to the Georgian people”, he said.

That is why it is important when we talk about restarting relations to stop false accusations and false narratives against the Georgian people”, Papuashvili added.

The Spanish Institute’s study recognised Georgia's “successful reforms” under the rule of Georgian Dream, distinguishing it from Moldova and Ukraine. However, it said the EU had not expedited accession negotiations with Georgia despite the accomplishments.