Kakha Gogolashvili, Director of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, responds to Shalva Papuashvili's statement, claiming that integration with the European Union entails disintegration with many countries, including the abolition of visa-free regimes.
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According to Kakha Gogolashvili, Shalva Papuashvili has spread disinformation during his public statements and is attempting to mislead citizens.
“We will need to introduce visas for Russia and some CIS countries, but that does not mean that, with an EU passport, one cannot enter America, Canada, Japan, Australia, most countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania without a visa, including China and Central Asian countries.
He also claimed that we would have to abolish the free trade regime with China and other countries. He referred to Russia but failed to mention that EU membership would grant us access to free trade with Turkey, Japan, Canada, Vietnam, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and would maintain and enhance trade relations with the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and open up opportunities with the Balkan countries, North and South Africa, and eventually the United States. In general, EU-branded goods are competitive globally and face no barriers entering other countries. In short,
Such disinformation and attempts to mislead citizens are merely tactics to justify halting the process of EU membership,” says Kakha Gogolashvili.
In an interview with Rustavi 2, the chairman of the illegitimate parliament and one of the leaders of Georgian Dream, Shalva Papuashvili, stated that EU membership entails surrendering part of sovereignty and economic freedom.
