"Now Georgia has European belief, pro-European orientation and European feelings".
Steps taken by Georgia in order to integrate into European structures and its urge to show its "European character" deserve special attention. A peculiarity of Georgia's road to Europe is that Georgia positions itself as the only "island of democracy" and the first democratic republic in the Caucasus. Georgian leaders claim that everything happening in the country is a risky, but very audacious experiment aimed at creating a Western society and a free country encircled by undemocratic states.
Tbilisi argues that the Georgian younger generation was educated in compliance with European standards. So, there has appeared modern and innovative Georgian elite, completely oriented to the Western values. Georgian young people speak European languages much more than Russian. Thus, Georgia has virtually "escaped" Russian linguistic influence.
Effective implementation of reforms became another trump of Tbilisi. Georgia is one of the leading countries of the world in such spheres, such as the struggle against corruption. It is not for nothing that the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton has noted on the air of a national TV-channel that Georgia had made great progress in implementation of economic reforms. Georgian authorities hope that, when Georgia gets the long-awaited status of an associate member, the country will also get new opportunities for attracting investment, expanding commerce, creating jobs and migrations of capital. Moreover, Georgian citizens may become the first former-CIS citizens (Georgia withdrew from the CIS officially in 2009) allowed to visit the EU visa-free.
President Mikheil Saakashvili described the policy of moving closer to Europe, in a brief, but quite eloquent phrase: "Georgia has European belief, pro-European orientation and European feelings now". It sounds especially symbolic against the background of the European and Georgian flags, which are obligatorily raised by Georgian authorities at all official meetings and events. The EU officials do not take the fact that Georgia, which is not even a potential EU membership candidate, violates the prescribed norms of international diplomatic protocol, into account.
Nowadays, EU flags hang on all government buildings, in all ministries and agencies. Georgia has established a record in number of accepted foreign delegations - only in June Georgia was visited by such high-ranking European and U.S. officials as the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the Danish and Albanian PACE co-rapporteurs Michael Jansen and Kastriot Islam, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip H. Gordon and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.
The country has become a favorite pilgrimage place for Western politicians.
The well-known expression "traditional Georgian hospitality" now implies magnificent welcomes for distinguished guests, Caucasian feasts, Georgian dances, tours round the country's historical sites and indispensible visits to the frontier regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The arrival of Bernard Kouchner was accompanied by fireworks of an unprecedented scale and Baroness Ashton's stay in the country was broadcasted on national TV-channel through all the time of her visit live. The broadcast was accompanied by the sounds of an orchestra.
However, opposition figures are inclined to believe that the frequent visits of European diplomats to Georgia are caused by the West's fear of Saakashvili's unpredictability. The head of the United Georgia" opposition movement Nino Burjanadze said: "We have an unpredictable president. On the one hand, he suggests propose to Russia authorities holding talks without any pre-conditions. On the other hand, he rattles his saber. Therefore, the danger that the country may become the seat of international tension and the menace of provocation still exists," the former parliamentary speaker complains.
Is Nabucco the main problem?
Already in 1997, the Black Sea and Caspian regions were declared a zone of American national interest and were regarded as sources of energy, an alternative to the Persian Gulf. Oil and gas transported across the Caucasus can provide up to a 25% increase of worldwide production of hydrocarbons in the next ten years. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline has been already constructed, and it is high time to commence building the Nabucco gas pipeline from Central Asia and Azerbaijan to Europe bypassing Russia.
Therefore, the current intensification of European diplomacy in the Caucasus can be considered in the context of the launch of the strategic project by the West. Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel enlisted the support of the Kazakh and Turkmen leadership concerning their participation in the project. At the same time with the start of the EU-Georgian negotiations, Azerbaijan and Armenia were offered the chance to become associated EU members. Given that the future gas pipeline will be built in Azerbaijan along the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, such actions seem quite logical. Baku and Yerevan have not answered yet, but Tbilisi has already made its choice.
Nurlan Adilhanuly, Exclusively for VK
