European Commission says Georgia ‘a candidate country in name only’
“The Georgian authorities must demonstrate resolute commitment to reverse course and return to the EU accession path,” the European Commission said on 4 November with the adoption of its annual Enlargement Package.
In June and October 2024, the European Council concluded that the Georgian authorities’ course of action jeopardised the country’s European path, and de facto halted the accession process. In December 2024, the European Council regretted the Georgian government’s decision to suspend the country’s EU accession process until 2028. Since then, the situation has significantly further deteriorated, the Commission says.
“Georgia has experienced serious democratic backsliding, with a rapid erosion of the rule of law and fundamental rights being severely restricted,” the package says. “The systemic and systematic repressive actions of the authorities, including legislation curtailing civic space and fundamental rights, the functioning of independent media and targeting LGBTIQ persons, excessive use of force in full impunity by the law enforcement authorities and hostile rhetoric against the EU, are in stark contrast with EU values and the actions expected from an EU candidate country.”
Moreover, there has been a significant backsliding across the nine steps set out in the Commission’s recommendation for candidate status, moving the country further away from its EU path, the Commission says. Institutions designed to uphold the rule of law have been instrumentalised for partisan objectives, thereby eroding their integrity. No steps have been taken by the authorities to reverse the course of action and bring the country back on its EU path.
The imprisonment of leading opposition figures, coupled with the ruling party’s announcement of its intention to ban certain opposition parties and associated individuals, constitutes a direct attack against democratic pluralism.
The Commission concludes that it considers Georgia “a candidate country in name only”.
Find out more
2025 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy
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