Ahead of the EU summit, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili addressed an open letter following the EU summit in Den Europe. In his speech, he emphasized Georgia's role in protecting European values and identity. He recalled that without over 300 thousand Georgians who fought in the Second World War, there would have been neither a European Union nor the very Day of Europe. Papuashvili began with greetings and then moved to the main topic. He thanked the German people for their support and noted that in the context of the ongoing war and the attempts to destroy Georgia, Georgians are the true defenders of European ideals. He also mentioned that without the Georgian nation, which has historically been a "protector of the European continent in the Second World War," the current political challenges facing the continent would be much more difficult to overcome.