Georgian president held meetings with the members of the European Parliament and the representatives of various European parties during the visit to Brussels. President thanked the European lawmakers for their intensive and fruitful cooperation with Georgia. President handed over highest state prizes to the members of the European Parliament for their particular support to Georgia on its road to European integration.
The European lawmakers emphasized the progress achieved by Mikheil Saakashvili and his government prior to the Vilnius summit and expressed their hope that the nation would not divert from the European course and would further enhance the progress achieved by the previous government. They said it was particularly important that the country had not selective justice. The European leaders expressed their desire for further cooperation with Mikheil Saakashvili in person and demonstrated full support to Georgia’s European aspirations prior to the Vilnius Summit.
In their turn, the European leaders thanked president for his intensive cooperation during past years and wished him success in his future activities.
President of Georgia:
"When I became President the first thing we did on my inauguration was to raise the European flag. It’s seemed crazy to my supporters and stupidly irresponsible to people who were skeptical about me. And it also seemed very weird from the point of view of Brussels what has European flag to do …. I remember that night I had lots of television coverage’s and I was on France 2. The hos lambasted me. He said who do you think you are young man , what kind of Europe look at the map, you don’t know Geography or what? Then I suddenly remembered the call about Judi Christian values and European aspects and etc. this was just a like culture-logical debate at that moment. But now this is more real, we are here. At my first visit I went to Washington D.C and I felt like my home. And when I came here, it was like I came to god knows what. It’s exactly in a reverse now. And frankly speaking I don’t know whether this is good or bad, but I find less and less common things with USA, when I go there it is much colder place and here, it is home. I guess it comes also with age with becoming more boring but on the other hand I will tell you. When I last saw Mr. George Bush, it was February 2008, at the white house. He said in America it is very personal, it depends on presidents, he said I love you, I like your region, but the next president might not care. My ultimate last advise is: go to Europe, Europe is the place where is procedural democracy, Europe is all about process, once you are in process you are in, they can not throw you out. You should be there, that’s your natural home. There are many things we could disagree but this was very smart thing to say because are returning back to our natural habitant and our guides in this thing were always you - European Parliament because governments in Europe are focused on other things. European parliament is focused on values. And what Europe is so strong about are values. We can easily get to Eurasian union, to custom union, because you don’t need to have any values, but that’s not the way to take. Europe is about the values standing up for your values. it's about success performance it’s a transformational force to better. So from that point of view it’s an amazing thing because if we had become better it is thanks to you."