The European Union has officially confirmed that it has paused Georgia's accession process, citing concerns over the Georgian Dream government’s current trajectory and deviation from EU values. 

"The process will remain on hold until Georgia realigns with these principles," EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski announced at a Tbilisi briefing on October 30, following the release of the European Commission’s annual enlargement reports. 

Negotiations have in effect been on hold since the government passed controversial legislation targeting NGOs and media with foreign funding, as well as discriminating against LGBTQ people. Now, following what have been clearly flawed general elections last weekend, Herczynski  confirmed that the Commission would not recommend initiating accession negotiations with Georgia at this time.

"The blame is put on the Georgian authorities, who have deliberately, over the last several months, through actions, statements, and legislations, [failed to bring] Georgia closer to the European Union. They have put Georgia further away from the European Union,” Herczynski remarked.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell, who presented the enlargement report in Brussels, highlighted the Georgian authorities' role in stalling progress. 

Borrell underscored that actions by Georgian officials had “negatively impacted public trust in the process,” particularly due to alleged "pressure on voters, especially on public sector employees”.

He called on the Georgian authorities, especially the Central Election Commission, to “swiftly, transparently, and independently investigate and adjudicate electoral irregularities”.

The EU awaits the OSCE/ODIHR’s final report on the running of the election, but it says that any Georgian legislation undermining fundamental rights and freedoms must be repealed to reset the country on the path to EU accession.

"De facto halted"

The relationship between the European Union and Georgia has historically aimed at fostering closer political association and economic integration. In June 2014, both parties took a significant step forward by signing an Association Agreement, which fully entered into force in July 2016. This agreement laid the groundwork for political and economic alignment, committing Georgia to reforms that would bring it closer to European standards.

Additionally, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) established within this agreement has opened the EU market to Georgian businesses and products, further deepening economic ties.

Beyond trade, the EU-Georgia relationship includes closer people-to-people contacts. Georgian citizens have enjoyed visa-free travel to the Schengen area since March 28, 2017, which has facilitated mobility and cultural exchange. 

Georgia's aspirations for full EU membership took a significant turn in March 2022, when the country formally applied for membership. This led to the recognition of Georgia’s “European perspective” in June of the same year and a step forward with the granting of candidate country status on December 14, 2023.

Yet, progress has not been straightforward. On June 27, 2024, the European Council announced that the EU accession process for Georgia was “de facto halted”, citing concerns over democratic backsliding and unfulfilled steps outlined in the Commission’s recommendation for candidate status. Reaffirming this stance, the European Council on October 17 urged Georgia to pursue democratic, comprehensive, and sustainable reforms in alignment with core EU principles.

While the EU remains Georgia’s largest donor, providing around €85 million annually to support Georgia’s reform agenda, democratic backsliding has already led to consequences. In response to recent setbacks, the EU has withheld €121 million from its allocations for 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Georgian opposition parties have, however, expressed some frustration that the EU reaction to the flawed elections has not been stronger. A united EU stance has been impossible because of the obstruction of Viktor Orban’s Hungary, which currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency.

Stronger criticism has come from individual countries. Following the controversy surrounding Georgia's recent elections, the foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden issued a statement calling for "a detailed and impartial investigation into the mentioned violations”. They emphasised that such an investigation is essential to "dispel doubts about the fairness of the electoral process”.

The ministers expressed growing concern over Georgia's political trajectory, noting that recent policies have strayed from the path of Euro-Atlantic integration. They underscored the necessity of upholding "the rule of law and democratic elections" for any progress on Georgia's EU path.

The US response has also so far been rather muted, with stronger comments coming from individual congressmen. On October 30, U.S. Congressmen Mike Turner and Gerry Connolly issued a joint statement regarding the October 26 elections in Georgia. They highlighted that the pre-election period was marred by “reports of vote buying, voter intimidation, abuse of administrative resources, and questionable appointments to election oversight boards”.

The congressmen expressed concern that these issues “move Georgia significantly further away from joining NATO and the European Union”. They lamented that the elections “presented Georgia an invaluable opportunity to prove to the international community, to Nato countries and the European Union that Georgia remains firmly committed to its Euro-Atlantic path”, yet the Georgian government failed to provide reassurance through its campaign rhetoric, which blamed the West for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Furthermore, the congressmen noted that the elections “posed significant challenges to the democratic process,” emphasising that “widespread pressure on public sector employees to vote for the incumbent party and a refusal to investigate violent attacks on political opponents are authoritarian behaviours”.

This, they stated, represents “a drastic departure from the vibrant, multiparty emerging democracy that once defined Georgia”. The joint statement concluded by affirming that “the United States and all auto countries stand with the Georgian people and their Euro-Atlantic aspirations”.