President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan were awarded the Guernica Prize for Peace and Reconciliation for their efforts to achieve peace and develop dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The award was presented to the countries' ambassadors in Spain.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spoke harshly about his country's position compared to countries that have already received candidate status for negotiations with the European Union. According to him, Georgia is ahead of Ukraine and Moldova in virtually every key area—at least "head and shoulders, even ten."
He emphasized that this is not a slight advantage, but a significant gap. Moreover, the head of government noted, Ukraine and Moldova have already made progress in the European integration process, despite their problematic indicators.
Kobakhidze placed special emphasis on economic indicators. According to him, the gap between the economies of Georgia and Moldova increased by $12.5 billion between 2021 and 2025.
"This means that the gap between our budgets—Georgia and Moldova—has grown by approximately $3 billion. These are the facts. There are also numerous facts regarding democracy, human rights, and corruption. Moldova is one of the most corrupt countries in Europe, just like Ukraine, yet you see that there is virtually no criticism of them on these issues,” the Georgian Prime Minister added.
He thus questioned the consistency of the EU's approach to assessing candidate countries, hinting at political loyalty to Kyiv and Chisinau.
Meanwhile, as the local publication Sova.News notes, within Georgia itself, criticism is being voiced, this time directed at the government. According to media reports, government opponents are focusing on the price situation and the work of the parliamentary commission created to analyze price increases.
The commission is studying the reasons for the price increases for food and essential goods, holding hearings, and preparing reports. However, Sova notes, citing critics, that there have been no tangible results yet: prices in stores either remain the same or continue to rise, fueling public discontent.