George Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Georgia has become ten times more interesting for Europe, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said following his visit to Brussels. "I had interesting meetings there. I received confirmation that Georgia will sign an Association Agreement in August. The EU would like Georgia to sign the contract as soon as possible. Generally, their interest in Georgia has increased tenfold, and I don't think I'm exaggerating," Mr Garibashvili said. However, it doesn't seem everyone in Georgia agrees with the position of the Prime Minister.
Recently, Gogi Topadze, a Georgian businessman, who is called the beer king of Georgia, made a surprise announcement. He demanded that the ruling coalition "Georgian Dream" (which, incidentally, he is a member of) "not conceal from the people the association agreement with the EU" and publish the document for public discussion. "The people have the right to know what is written in the agreement. It might as well contain some obligations that could turn out to be unaffordable for the Georgian economy," pointedly remarked the "beer king".
This diplomatic phrase has several hidden meanings.
Firstly, Mr Topadze is well acquainted with the document and knows exactly what provisions are beneficial to the Georgian economy. Regarding the opening of the European market for Georgian goods, the agreement is very beneficial in theory, because it is the largest market in the world. But the problem is that Georgia has nothing to sell in Europe, but the barely-opened Russian markets may close in August, when Tbilisi plans to officially sign the association agreement with the EU.
Secondly, Mr Topadze should definitely know that the agreement has already been initialed at the Vilnius summit of the "Eastern Partnership". That is, if we talk about a national discussion with a view to making changes to the document, it is impossible - an initialed document can either be signed or not, but talks about its contents have already been completed.
Thus, Mr Topadze's proposal is nothing but a cautious hint of the need to reject signing the treaty with the EU, as it threatens the country with the loss of the only market where Georgian goods are in actual demand.
To make completely sure of Mr Topadze's motivation, who has for many years expressed the interests of big business, just look at the sensational data on sales of Georgian wine to Russia over just a few months after the abolition of the secret embargo that was in force since 2006 - Georgian winemakers exported to Russia over 20 million bottles of the drink! Wines from Georgia made up almost 5.5% of the total wine imports in Russia and were on the eighth line of the rating of suppliers, surpassing Ukraine and Moldova. Wine exports to Russia needed only six months to almost double. And this means millions of dollars and thousands of jobs.
Moreover, wine export is only a part of total exports in Russia - citrus, vegetables, fruits, herbs and mineral water are also exported. Mr Topadze and his party colleagues with the remarkable title "Production will Save Georgia" are convinced that none of this nomenclature will be sold on the "open EU market". Europe has never tasted Georgian wine. And in Russia, despite the long break, as it turned out, no one has forgotten the taste of "Khvanchkara" and "Kindzmarauli". It is difficult to find another explanation for the phenomenal demand for Georgian wine when Russian supermarket shelves are full of delicious French, Spanish and Italian wines. By the way, the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy and Industry Economy is led by Mr. Topadze's party colleague Zurab Tkemaladze, who used to be the most successful winemaker in Georgia. In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza he fully supported the initiative of the party leader and said that the agreement with the EU "needs to be studied scrupulously."
