The representative of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Andriy Dzhagmaidze, told how relations between European officials and the clergy began to cool down in 2019 due to different views on the "values of tolerance."
In an interview with the Imedi Week program, Father Andriy, head of the Public Relations service of the Georgian Patriarchate, recalled the events of seven years ago. Then, during a conference in Batumi dedicated to Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration, he asked Michael Roth, the then German Minister of State for European Affairs, whether holding LGBT prides would become an EU requirement for Georgia, Sputnik Georgia reports.
As the representative of the Patriarchate noted, he explained that public demonstration of intimate life is unacceptable for Georgian culture, and the imposition of such actions only strengthens the division of society and creates favorable conditions for using this topic as a tool of "soft power."
In response, according to Jagmaidze, Roth stated that the fundamental values of Europe are tolerance and respect for minorities, and public criticism of ethnic, religious or sexual minorities by representatives of the church is unacceptable.
The representative of the Patriarchate also spoke about meetings in Brussels in the fall of 2019 with representatives of the European People's Party, as well as with MEPs Andrius Kubilius and Rasa Jukneviciene, known for their criticism of the current Georgian authorities.
According to him, the Georgian delegation spent three days convincing European politicians to abandon pressure on Tbilisi on LGBT issues, warning that otherwise it would lead to increased anti-European sentiment in Georgian society.
"We told them: if you really want Georgia to become part of the European Union, do not impose this agenda on the country. This is what will help to avoid the growth of anti–European sentiments," Jagmaidze said.
According to the archpriest, the response of European politicians turned out to be unequivocal.
"At parting, they told us: "Many years ago we were also homophobes, but you will get used to this LGBT* agenda." These were the words of Rasa Yukneviciene," said Jagmaidze.
It is worth noting that later the Georgian authorities made a choice that went against the European agenda - they passed a law restricting the propaganda of homosexuality. In addition, in 2024, it was decided to postpone negotiations on Georgia's accession to the European Union until at least 2028. Since then, relations between Tbilisi and Brussels have become much less close.
According to the materials iapn.kz/