Georgia’s authorities has reacted angrily to a essential evaluation from the European Union over the nation’s backsliding on democratic reforms on the way in which to becoming a member of the bloc, accusing Brussels of interfering in home affairs.
In presenting a scathing annual report on progress towards accession, EU overseas coverage chief Kaja Kallas mentioned Georgia has “no viable path to the EU at this stage until situations change dramatically.”
Particularly, the report blames the state of affairs on Georgian authorities insurance policies — specifically a crackdown on political opponents and a coverage shift that seems slanted towards Moscow — which have undermined relations with the 27-member bloc.
Accusations Of Blackmail
Georgian parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili accused the bloc of “blackmail,” saying that and “stress on Georgia don’t work.”
“A paperwork imbued with a hidden political agenda, an conceited angle, and disrespect for all nations that don’t show blind obedience, making an attempt to make unbiased choices and train the sovereign proper to manipulate the state,” Papuashvili added.
The annual progress report for the ten candidate nations acts as a weigh station for governments as they give the impression of being to deliver legal guidelines, funds, and insurance policies in keeping with the bloc.
In all there are 33 coverage chapters that EU hopefuls — at present Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine — want to satisfy earlier than becoming a member of the bloc.
The 2025 report lauded a number of candidates and dangled the carrot of probably becoming a member of the bloc as early as 2030 if reforms stay on monitor.
Georgia, nevertheless, was accused of “critical democratic backsliding” within the EU enlargement report.
As soon as seen as one of the democratic and pro-Western nations to emerge from the Soviet Union, Georgia has been accused of rising more and more authoritarian, whereas adopting what many — together with Brussels — see as Russia-friendly insurance policies.
Georgia’s Anti-Democratic Flip
Georgia’s relationship with the EU particularly has deteriorated since Tbilisi adopted anti-LGBT laws and a so-called “overseas brokers” legislation final yr, when the EU halted accession talks.
Tensions deepened additional after parliamentary elections in October 2024, wherein the Georgian Dream celebration held on to energy, froze talks on Georgia’s accession to the European Union, and accused the bloc of making an attempt to plot a coup in Tbilisi.
The Georgian International Ministry echoed these sentiments, saying in a assertion late on November 4 that the Georgian authorities “condemns all makes an attempt directed towards utilizing the difficulty of EU accession as a political instrument.”
The assertion add that the federal government is “well-functioning” with the nation having a “steady macro-economic surroundings and excessive financial progress,” thus elevating “critical questions concerning the objectivity of assessments given within the fee’s report.
Georgian Dream claims that it nonetheless desires to affix the European Union, however provided that it could actually protect what it says are Georgia’s conventional Orthodox Christian values in addition to “peaceable” ties with Russia.
Gigi Gigiadze, a senior fellow on the Financial Coverage Analysis Heart, a Tbilisi-based assume tank, and Georgia’s former ambassador to Denmark and Iceland, informed RFE/RL that the state of affairs could spark additional protests given EU accession is supported by most Georgians, in addition to sanctions in opposition to Tbilisi.
“Time is working in opposition to all of us, in opposition to the Georgian folks,” he mentioned.
