Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili expressed doubts about the expediency of the republic joining the European Union amid discussions about shifting from the principle of unanimous decision-making within the organization to qualified majority voting.

As Papuashvili noted, earlier German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul proposed abolishing the rule under which one country can block a common decision. According to Wadephul, decisions on EU foreign policy and security should be made by a majority vote.

“For large states, such a model may be acceptable, as their size, economic weight, and political influence on the decision-making process already provide a significant advantage. However, for small countries, these would be catastrophic changes. Therefore, the question is becoming increasingly relevant: what is the point of membership if your main advantage and leverage are taken away from you immediately?” Papuashvili wrote on Facebook.

As the head of the Georgian parliament noted, EU membership is important so that the country can support decisions beneficial to itself, promote its interests, and suspend decisions that could harm it. “If a country is deprived of this opportunity, then the European Union is also deprived of its importance as a means of protecting national interests. Accordingly, the political attractiveness and fundamental motivation for membership disappear,” he emphasized.

According to him, under such conditions, for small countries it might be better to remain outside the bloc, at least because they would retain the right to freely make certain decisions.