Commissioner: Georgia remains a candidate for EU membership only formally

Georgia remains a candidate country for EU membership “only on paper,” said European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Marta Kos. The issue of Georgia’s admission depends on the position of other EU countries.

I would like Georgia, with the great support of the Georgian people, to be on the same level with Moldova and Ukraine. How we continue to work with Georgia will largely depend on how the EU member states assess its future in their enlargement reports at the end of October, she said at a press conference.

The leader of the parliamentary majority in Georgia, Irakli Kirtskhalia, responded that the country seeks membership in the EU, “but not at any cost and not to the detriment of the interests of Georgia.” He urged to treat Georgia “as an equal state, and not as a country that is dictated from the outside.” “If progress in Brussels is measured by how unquestioningly a country fulfills specific political demands, then this is not European integration based on real achievements, but a test of unconditional obedience,” Kirtskhalia wrote on Facebook.

Relations between Tbilisi and Brussels deteriorated after the ruling Georgian Dream party passed several laws restricting the activities of non-governmental organizations in 2023-2024. The EU has not recognized the results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia in October 2024. In response, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in the same year announced the suspension of negotiations on the country's accession to the EU.

Details – in the material “Kommersant FM” “Georgia was put before a choice”.