Georgian PM says external actors sought to use EU integration issue to influence power shift in Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday said that the European Union’s handling of candidate status decisions for Georgia was politically motivated and used as a form of pressure against the country.

Speaking during a televised debate on Rustavi 2, Kobakhidze noted that the ruling team predicted from the very beginning that while Ukraine and Moldova would be granted candidacy in June 2022, Georgia would be denied, despite lacking any objective justification for the rejection.

He emphasised that even the European Commission’s own subsequent assessments acknowledged Georgia was ahead of other nations that had already received the status.

He stated that in February 2022, Georgian officials were pressured in meetings to take steps that would involve the country in the war in Ukraine, a request he described as unacceptable.

Kobakhidze further claimed that shortly afterward, Ukraine was unexpectedly encouraged to apply for EU candidate status despite the ongoing war, which he said was seen in Tbilisi as inconsistent with EU policy logic at the time.

According to the Prime Minister, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova were initially treated as a single geopolitical grouping, but only two of the three were granted candidate status in June 2022 without sufficient explanation. He also said that at that time there were no formal conditions such as reform “roadmaps” attached to the process.

Kobakhidze added that the European Commission later acknowledged in its assessments that Georgia was ahead of some countries that had already been granted candidate status. Despite this, he said, Georgia was initially denied the status, which he described as part of a broader political strategy.

He further referred to internal and external political dynamics in 2022-2023, including civil society activity and political tensions in Georgia, arguing that the EU integration process was being used as a tool of political pressure. He also claimed that later, once the “leverage” effect diminished, Georgia was eventually granted EU candidate status in December 2023.

The Prime Minister concluded that EU integration remains widely supported in Georgian society, but insisted that, in his view, the process has been used by external actors as a form of political influence over domestic developments in Georgia.