Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-12-18-Speech-4-167"
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"en.20031218.7.4-167"2
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"Mr President, everyone shares the euphoria about the recent developments in Georgia: the storming of the parliament and the resignation of President Shevardnadze, who at one time enjoyed sustained acclaim. After a long tradition of having been the first colony in tsarist Russia, and then having been the birthplace of Stalin, and finally Eduard Shevardnadze, there now comes democracy. It is reminiscent of the Central Europe of previous years: Romania after Ceaucescu, or Serbia after Milosevic. Many European countries will be inclined to think: this is a nearby region, a Christian region, together with Ar menia, but at the same time a long way away from us, only accessible from the Black Sea, via Turkey or via Russia. What relations could the European Union have in the future with that country? In addition, Mr Belder has already drawn attention to the problem of its national minorities, and Abkhazia, in particular, has been a Georgian breakaway region for a long time now.
The inhabitants of South Ossetia are actually unhappy about being part of Georgia, and in Ajaria people are supporting a leader who would gladly have remained loyal to Eduard Shevardnadze. A great many unresolved problems remain, therefore, and I think that, if a solution is not found to these internal problems, the democracy that is now able to get off the ground in Georgia will start at a disadvantage. It is very important to work towards this, therefore. In Amendment No 3, my group calls for the EU to ensure that its involvement, which is supposed to make a contribution to democracy, does not lead to interference in Georgia’s domestic politics. We do not believe that the purposes of democracy would be served by the European Union adopting the wrong attitude, putting too much emphasis on forcing together different population groups that have difficulty living together. It will have to be a cautious process, one that is primarily based on the efforts of the peoples of Georgia themselves: the Georgians as the largest group, but also taking account of the three large national minorities."@en1
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