Georgia’s deputy prime minister says EU accession is moving in a ‘very active way’

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Levan Davitashvili, has said that Georgia’s EU integration agenda was moving forward in a ‘very active way’, despite Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement in November 2024 that Georgia was freezing its EU membership bid.

Speaking to Euronews in Doha on Wednesday, Davitashvili said that there were ‘many speculations’ about Georgia’s accession path, but ‘there is no real shift in our policy’.

‘We have the only policy, which is the integration agenda’, he said. ‘[That policy is] formally adopted by the government and that’s also in the process of implementation by all institutions, all government institutions, all ministries, and agencies’.

Davitashvili claimed that the Georgian government ‘implemented almost 60%’ of the requirements set by the EU, and that the government was ‘very active in implementation’.

‘We have clearly declared that our target is full-fledged membership by 2030’, he said, echoing remarks made by senior members of his party.

‘We understand it’s a long process, but we are fully focused [on implementing] this significant reform and we are still loyal to this reform, and this process goes in a very active way.’

Many cast doubt on Georgian Dream’s sincerity in its government’s implementation of the EU’s reforms and requirements.

In November 2024, Kobakhidze announced that the government would be halting EU accession until the end of 2028.

At the time, Kobakhidze claimed that Georgia would be ‘economically prepared’ to begin negotiations with the EU only by the end of 2028, aiming for membership by 2030. After the EU declined to open negotiations with the country in 2023, party officials had insisted that Georgia deserved to begin negotiations.

The announcement was met with outcry in Georgia, with protests erupting throughout the country and continuing to this day.

It also came against the backdrop of worsening ties with the EU, which has consistently been critical of the Georgian government’s anti-Western trajectory and policies.

EU diplomat denied entry to Georgia

It remains unclear so far on what grounds Vandenbroucke was denied entry to Georgia.

OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia