Georgian PM: EU denied candidate status, halted integration, interfered in our democratic elections

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday accused the European Union of using European integration as a tool of blackmail, citing the denial of candidate status, suspension of integration talks, and interference in Georgia’s democratic elections.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze expressed frustration over the lack of explanation for why candidate status was not granted in June 2022.

“The only way the European bureaucracy used the European integration topic regarding Georgia from early 2022 was as blackmail. This was connected to all the injustice and unfair decisions in June 2022. To this day, no one has explained why we were not granted candidate status”, he said.

The Prime Minister said that if these actions had not occurred, relations between Georgia and the EU would have remained “normal and healthy”, with open dialogue and mutual trust.

“Theoretically, imagine rewinding everything - imagine that in June 2022 we were granted candidate status, then, like Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia, negotiations would have been opened, dialogue and communication would have continued, and relations would have been normal and healthy between the EU and Georgia”, he noted.

He argued that despite Georgia outperforming other candidate countries, the EU had treated it unfairly.

“On our side, we extended our hand in every way and showed complete openness. But they did not grant us candidate status; for two years, all of this continued. They did not open negotiations, they announced the suspension of European integration in June 2024, and they interfered in our democratic elections - an EU ambassador even stated that voters should support the opposition against Georgian Dream. They were doing all of this. If none of this had happened, relations between Georgia and the EU would have continued normally and healthily”, he said.

Kobakhidze criticised the European Union’s approach toward Georgia, calling it a “double-faced policy” rather than a genuine open-door strategy.

“The only thing that emerged, as NATO’s open-door policy, ultimately turned out to be a double-faced policy. Here too, it became clear that this was not the EU’s open-door policy toward Georgia, but a double-faced policy where European integration was used solely as a tool of blackmail against Georgia. In everything, we surpass Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia, and other candidate countries, but the attitude toward us is different”, Kobakhidze concluded.