Georgia: European Commission welcomes Tbilisi’s efforts and recommends candidate status

The European Commission today recommended that the Council grant Georgia the status of a candidate country, outlining nine major steps to be taken by Georgia to get the status. 

The Commission welcomed the reform efforts undertaken by Georgia in line with the country’s constitution, which envisages its integration into the EU as a priority for the country. 

“An overwhelming majority of Georgian citizens supports the country’s EU accession process. Political depolarisation and more positive engagement by the ruling party with opposition parties and civil society are needed to build consensus on matters of national interest,” the Commission said in its 2023 Communication on Enlargement Policy published today.

The Commission also notes that in relation to the twelve priorities specified in the European Commission Opinion of June 2022, Georgia has adopted legislative acts and policy actions on gender equality and on fighting violence against women, on taking into account European Court of Human Rights judgments in Court deliberations, and on organised crime. It has also appointed a new Public Defender. 

In its key findings for Georgia, the EC highlighted that “the reform process has been hampered by continuing political tensions, deep polarisation, the absence of constructive engagement between political parties and the challenges of building consensus on key matters of national interest”. 

At the same time, the Commission praised Georgian civil society, which is “well developed, diverse, vibrant and continues to enjoy the freedom to operate”.

The Commission recommended that Georgia be granted the status of candidate country on the understanding that action be taken in a number of areas including to fight disinformation and foreign information manipulation; improve alignment with the EU common foreign and security policy; address the issue of political polarisation; ensure a free, fair and competitive electoral process; ensure a systemic approach to deoligarchisation, and a holistic and effective judicial reform.

Find out more

Press release

Key findings of the 2023 Report on Georgia

Georgia Report 2023

2023 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy

Georgia_2023 Enlargement Package Factsheet