EU “unfairly rejecting” Georgia’s candidacy would cause “public scepticism” to bloc - Ruling party Sec-Gen

If the European Union “unfairly rejects” Georgia’s application for receiving the bloc’s membership candidate status for the second year running, the decision will lead to “disappointment and scepticism” about the bloc in the domestic public, Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Monday. 

In his press comments, the official highlighted the European Council’s move last June to grant Georgia only a European perspective - while Moldova and Ukraine received the full candidacy status - was “politically grounded and not merit-based”. 

Pointing to the “much better” conditions of democratic institutions in Georgia compared with the two other countries of the Associated Trio, Kaladze claimed the bloc’s move had been aimed at triggering “internal confrontations”, adding “changing the current Government is the opposition’s dream, but it is completely up to the choice of the Georgian people in the 2024 [Parliamentary] elections”. 

I want to believe the [EU’s] decision will be fair, and we will be granted the status. It is up to the bloc, but [if the decision is unfair], people will see it. I do not want an unfair decision to cause disappointment and scepticism towards Europe among the Georgian public”, he said. 

Kaladze also claimed the Government would have all conditions outlined by the EU last year for granting the status to Georgia completed by the end of this month.

Tbilisi officially applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.