EU Commission: Georgia’s EU Candidacy Now “Nominal”

The European Commission’s 2025 Enlargement Report states that Georgia has made no progress toward joining the European Union and now holds candidate status only nominally, Orda.kz reports.

According to a communication published on November 4, Tbilisi must “urgently reverse its democratic backsliding” and begin implementing reforms “with broad political and civic participation” in line with the EU’s nine recommended steps.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said Georgia currently has “no viable path to EU membership unless the situation changes drastically.” She also noted that Brussels is considering sanctions against officials responsible for violence against peaceful demonstrators, though EU members have yet to reach a consensus, according to Tvpirveli.

Commissioner Marta Kos urged Georgian authorities to “listen to their people and stop jailing opposition leaders, journalists, and dissenters.”

In response, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili accused the European Commission of “lies and hostile rhetoric,” claiming that “democratic regression is characteristic not of Georgia’s government, but of EU institutions,” according to The Caucasusian Knot.

He added that Georgia would continue preparing for EU membership “on its own terms,” not for the “bureaucratic union that has lost its European essence.”

At the same time, the Georgian Foreign Ministry has dismissed the commission’s report as “trendy” and politically biased.

In a statement, the ministry accused EU institutions of attempting to interfere in Georgia’s internal political affairs. The statement added that Brussels itself had suspended the meetings and dialogue mechanisms outlined in the EU’s recommendations, making progress impossible.

The Government of Georgia, as a responsible and loyal partner, once again confirms its desire for respectful, constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation with the European Union, based on common values ​​and principles, and not on coercion, the statement says. 

On October 4, Georgia held municipal elections across all regions. Candidates from the ruling Georgian Dream party won in all 64 cities, securing 100 percent of the vote in 26 of them.

Protests erupted against that background.