The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia has addressed an open letter to Paweł Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia.

“I congratulate you on Europe Day. On this remarkable date, besides symbolic celebrations, we should pause and reflect on what Europe truly represents, how its meaning is lived by citizens, and how it shapes the future of Georgia and the European Union.

Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European Union and a great French statesman, made a historic declaration on this day, on the fifth anniversary of the end of devastating World War II. The Schuman Declaration was rooted in one overriding purpose: to ensure that war would never again devastate Europe. The Declaration’s spirit was clear – peace through unity, cooperation through respect, and stability through shared responsibility. It is precisely against this vision that today’s policies must be measured.

Unlike Robert Schuman, in your Europe Day message to the Georgian people last year, you chose to ignore the anniversary of the end of World War II, and instead, concentrate on your political grievances towards your host nation. However, it is worth remembering that, if not for the parents and grandparents of the current generations of Georgians, along with other anti-Fascist nations, Fascism would not have been defeated, and there would be neither the European Union nor Europe Day. There is not a single family in Georgia that did not sacrifice someone in that war. So, setting apart Europe Day from Victory Day does not work for us. Hence, I hope, at your gathering on the 9th of May, you will honour the 300,000 Georgians who sacrificed their lives for a Europe free of Fascism”, - reads the open letter of Shalva Papuashvili.