The European Union wants to put Georgia back on the European path and is looking for ways to gradually restore contacts with the Georgian government. This was announced by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.
According to the European Commissioner, despite the irregularities in Georgia’s parliamentary elections in October and the adoption of controversial Russian-style laws, such as the law on “foreign agents”, the EU does not want to impose further sanctions on Tbilisi, which will hurt the Georgian people the most. The EU has now suspended Georgia’s progress towards EU membership and frozen funds to support the government. At the same time, the EU is looking for ways to resume dialogue.
“The easiest thing is not to talk. But to talk, you need to know what you can offer and what the other side is willing to do. So now we are looking at how we can structure the dialogue so that we can put Georgia back on the European path,” the European Commissioner told and cited the example of Turkey, which after freezing accession in 2019 has now resumed high-level dialogue with Brussels.
“We discussed the economy and we are planning another issue on migration,” Kos added regarding Turkey.
In the case of Georgia, Kos believes the EU should be careful not to confirm the mistakes of Tbilisi’s leadership.
“I think we should be cautious, perhaps start with contacts at a lower level and then see how it can develop,” the European Commissioner said.
“I cannot accept that we have lost Georgia, even if the government passes one after another laws that are obviously contrary to European values” – Kos summarised.
Georgia was granted candidate status for EU membership in December 2023 together with Ukraine and Moldova. For this purpose, under pressure from the EU, the country’s authorities withdrew the “law on foreign agents”, but already in September 2024, the Georgian parliament adopted a new package of laws, and in November, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of EU accession negotiations until 2028. This sparked protests in the country.