Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-12-15-Speech-2-267"
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"en.20091215.17.2-267"2
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"Mr President, I am very impressed by the very thorough picture that the President-in-Office and the Commissioner have painted of the present state of relations. The EU’s relationship with Georgia does raise very far-reaching questions about what we are about, what the EU is, and what we aspire to be. It could be that this relationship could turn out to be a test case of our commitment to values of solidarity, human rights and democracy – our proclaimed values.
It is clear enough that Georgia – both the elites and society – see the country as belonging to Europe. At the same time that country – let us admit it – is in a precarious situation, as Russia, the former colonial power, has not given up its aspiration to reclaim some kind of overlordship over Georgia or, indeed, over the rest of the Southern Caucasus. It is in this sense that there are many people in Russia who do not take Georgia’s status as an independent state seriously, and take the view that Georgia’s return to Russia is just a question of time. This leaves the great majority of people in Georgia feeling decidedly insecure. That insecurity has been markedly intensified in the light of last year’s conflict with Russia. No country likes to be stripped of its sovereign territory, as Georgia was.
All this affects the EU – hence the significance of the Eastern Partnership. Georgia sees itself as having a European future, not least as a guarantee of its security. Obviously, there is also the Southern Caucasian energy corridor, which is a future lifeline for Europe’s energy supplies. These would be compelling enough reasons for the European Union to take Georgia’s European aspirations seriously, as we obviously do, but there is also a final argument, which is that, if Europe neglects these aspirations, then our own credibility in the world will come into question and our opponents will be delighted by this demonstration of Europe’s weakness."@en1
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