Tbilisi’s Defiant EU Dream: Repression Clashes with Brussels’ Rebuke

The European Commission has delivered a stark assessment, declaring Georgia’s integration process with the European Union effectively stalled due to the Tbilisi government’s increasingly repressive policies. This strong condemnation comes as Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze maintains an ambitious target of EU accession by 2030, paradoxically vowing first to dismantle domestic opposition and ‘restore justice to Europe’.

Adding to the escalating tensions, Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office initiated a criminal investigation against former President Mikheil Saakashvili and several prominent opposition leaders on Thursday. The inquiry targets alleged ‘crimes against the state,’ as announced by Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze, signaling a deepening crackdown on dissent within the country.

In its latest enlargement report, the European Commission heavily criticized the Georgian government for adopting a series of restrictive laws targeting activists, civil society organizations, and independent media. Brussels firmly places the blame for the derailed integration process on the current administration, stating that Georgia must urgently reverse its democratic backslide.

An official press release accompanying the report urged Georgian authorities to undertake comprehensive and tangible efforts to address outstanding issues and implement key reforms. This, the EU emphasized, must be underpinned by cross-party cooperation and civil society engagement, aligning with fundamental European values.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, delivered an unusually sharp rebuke, noting that never before had an EU report contained such extensive criticism of a candidate country. She warned that Georgia’s EU candidate status is now merely a title. “Respected Georgian government, you are not leading your people into the European Union; on the contrary, you are leading them backward. If you are serious about the European Union, listen to your people and stop jailing opposition leaders, journalists, and dissenting voices. Only then can we talk,” Kos stated.

Despite the severe criticism, Prime Minister Kobakhidze remains unyielding in his resolve to quash opponents and steer Georgia into the EU by 2030. He affirmed his intention to pursue a constitutional ban on three of the four opposition parties that cleared the electoral threshold in the last parliamentary elections: the United National Movement (UNM), the ‘For Change’ coalition, and ‘Strong Georgia – For Business’. Kobakhidze asserted that this measure is crucial for restoring the democratic system and is a matter of paramount national importance.

Further echoing the government’s confrontational stance, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili declared that the “current Brussels bureaucracy is stripping the EU of its European substance” but vowed that Georgia would continue its fight for the return of justice to Europe. “We will not surrender!” he proclaimed.

The Georgian authorities’ assertive rhetoric has extended beyond Brussels, even drawing criticism towards Armenia. Vice Speaker of Parliament Nino Tsilosani expressed dissatisfaction that Armenian representatives in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly supported a resolution accusing ‘Georgian Dream’ of usurping power. She contended this move implicitly undermined Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who, according to Tsilosani, does not question the democratic nature of the Georgian regime.

In response, the head of the Armenian delegation, Maria Karapetyan, clarified that Yerevan’s representatives either abstained or did not participate in votes on amendments specifically concerning Georgia. However, they did support the final resolution due to its inclusion of critical provisions for Armenia, such as support for the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process, border delineation based on mutual sovereignty, and a call for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from Armenian territory.

Meanwhile, former Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili offered her perspective, suggesting that ‘Georgian Dream’ began planning to derail EU integration even as Georgia celebrated its candidate status. She believes the current trajectory is a result of a deliberate, systematic dismantling of Georgia’s European path, which had unexpectedly accelerated due to events in Ukraine.

Archil Sikharulidze, founder of the SIKHA Foundation research institute, acknowledges the ‘Georgian Dream’ government’s peculiar rhetoric towards the EU. However, he attributes it not to malicious intent but to a sense of helplessness. Sikharulidze points out the inherent contradiction in advocating for a more sovereign policy while simultaneously seeking EU membership, where such autonomy is constrained. He argues that the EU’s demands for sacrifices in exchange for integration have created this conflict.

Sikharulidze further contends that ‘Georgian Dream,’ by its very nature, cannot abandon the idea of Euro-integration despite recognizing its current futility. He observes that the aspiration to join the EU has evolved into an almost “sectarian idea” for Georgian society. Paradoxically, the expert hopes that EU bureaucrats will continue to delay Tbilisi’s accession, providing time for critical thinking to develop within the Georgian populace.