Constant speculations regarding the European course, using this topic as a political tool will only hinder Georgia’s progress towards the European Union, said Maka Bochorishvili, Chairman of the Integration Committee with Europe, in her speech at the annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

“Dear colleagues, security challenges are not new for the OSCE region. Unfortunately, instead of reducing threats, the region is becoming more complex and we have to deal with more difficult situations every day. The main security challenge for Georgia is still the Russian occupation and its illegal military presence in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region.

For decades, we have been talking about the protection of the rules-based international order and the need to respect international norms and principles, however, territorial integrity, security issues and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Georgians remain our daily concerns. Under these conditions, the support of our international partners is of special importance for Georgia. Unfortunately, the reality under which the Georgian government has to fight for the stable democratic development of the country is often not correctly assessed objectively and accordingly.

Membership of the European Union has been a long-standing choice for Georgia. We are very well aware of how much effort is required to finally achieve this goal. For this we need a dialogue with our partners, a dialogue on all important issues, which will make the integration process of Georgia mutually beneficial.

We should be well aware that constant speculations regarding Georgia’s European course and using this topic as a political tool will only hinder Georgia"s progress towards the EU and give a hand to our adversary. Unfortunately, we often see attempts to present the will of the Georgian people and the Government as separate from each other.

At this time, we should not forget one important fact: the largest part of the population of Georgia aspires to Europe, more than 85 percent want to join the EU, and most of these people entrust their European future to the political power that is in power in Georgia today. Yes, it is not an easy task to maintain peace and stability in the country in these turbulent times, while ensuring stable, democratic and economic development, which is also essential for our European future.

In this complex situation, we hope for the support of our partners, their fair and objective evaluations and treatment. Dear colleagues, when it comes to Georgia, don’t rush to draw conclusions based on false perceptions, look at the numbers, look for facts, and you will get much more answers from facts than from unnecessary speculations”, - said Maka Botchorishvili.