Speaking in the European Parliament during the debate on the “Deepening Democratic Crisis in Georgia,” MEP Cristian Terheș criticized the European Union for what he described as a politicized and dismissive approach toward partner countries, including Georgia.

Terheș argued that the EU must stop treating partner states as tools of political convenience or as arenas for projecting its internal political disputes. He stressed that every partner country deserves respect and good-faith engagement aimed at resolving challenges, rather than disengagement when governments fail to align with what he called unreasonable EU policies.

Highlighting Georgia’s geopolitical context, Terheș recalled that Georgia was the first country attacked by Russia in the 21st century and continues to have parts of its territory illegally occupied. He noted that Georgia clearly expressed its ambition to join NATO at the 2008 Bucharest summit, but that key NATO and EU member states blocked that path.

Despite these setbacks, he said, Georgia has continued to engage constructively with the European Union. Terheș pointed out that in 2025 Georgia accepted a human rights dialogue in good faith, only for it to be abruptly and, in his view, unjustifiably postponed by the EU.

Concluding his remarks, Terheș warned that abandoning Georgia would be unjust, strategically short-sighted, and morally wrong. Addressing the European Commission directly, he urged EU officials to resume dialogue immediately if they genuinely care about the Georgian people.