European Commission Recommends Granting EU Candidate Status to Georgia
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, November 9, 2023
The European Commission recommended granting European Union candidate status to Georgia with the condition that the government takes significant reform steps.
Georgia is required to make further progress on the 12 priorities identified in the previous year. These reforms must be successfully implemented before candidate status for EU membership can be granted.
The Commission recognized several positive developments in Georgia, such as increased scrutiny by the opposition in parliamentary work, adoption of a plan to reduce the influence of oligarchs, withdrawal of a personalized approach (potentially related to governance or policy), and establishment of an Anti-corruption Bureau.
The European Commission urged the authorities in Georgia to better reflect the genuine aspirations of its citizens by engaging more with the opposition and civil society. This involvement is seen as crucial in matters of national interest, indicating a call for more inclusive governance and decision-making processes.
"Finally, with regard to Georgia, here the College fully supports the genuine aspirations of the overwhelming majority of its citizens to join the European Union. These aspirations need to be better mirrored by the authorities who should engage more with the opposition and civil society on matters of national interest. And further progress is needed by the government on the 12 priorities identified last year before candidate status can be granted. Now the Commission also acknowledges a number of positive steps. For example, the opposition's scrutiny of parliamentary work has been increased; an action plan for de-oligarchisation was adopted; the personalized approach was withdrawn; and the Anti-corruption Bureau was set up. Therefore, the Commission recommends granting candidate status to Georgia on the understanding that the government takes important reform steps," President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen stated.
The final decision on whether Georgia will be granted candidate status will be announced at the December 14-15 summit.
