By Tengo Gogotishvili | 2023-12-27

TBILISI -- Tens of thousands of residents took to the streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi on mid December to celebrate the European Union (EU) decision to put the country on a formal membership path.

But now the real work begin.

To start the actual accession negotiations with EU, Georgie needs to take action in nine areas.

They include overcoming political polarization; holding fair elections; improving institutional independence and impartiality; implementing judicial reform; continuing the fight against corruption; pursuing de-oligarchization; protecting human rights and the rights of minorities, media and civil activists; fighting disinformation and "foreign information manipulation" about the EU and its values; and aligning Georgia's foreign and security policy more closely with the EU's.

"Countries that want to join the EU need to bring their foreign policy in line with EU foreign policy as much as possible," Gigi Gigiadze, a former Georgian ambassador to Denmark, told Kontur.

"At one time, Georgia's foreign policy was 65% aligned with Europe's. But in the last few years, we have receded significantly," Gigiadze said.

Brussels has not hidden its irritation at Georgia's failure to espouse the EU's security policy, as Georgia particularly recoils from making any statements condemning Russia.

"As an aspiring EU Member State, we expect Georgia to align with EU foreign policy decisions and actions," Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said in September ahead of a visit to Tbilisi, according to an EU statement.

"There are enlargement countries that meet this commitment with [a] 100% rate. Last year, the alignment rate for Georgia was already at a low 44%, while currently it stands at 43%," he noted.

"This holds a great significance for the EU as our foreign policy is governed by consensus. And this is not something taken lightly by Member States."

Obstacles to accession

The road to EU candidacy has not been easy, and achieving accession may be even more difficult, given the ruling party's inclinations.

Pro-Russian Georgian Dream has always said that European integration is a priority but has not always implemented that goal in practice.

In May 2022, a Tbilisi court sentenced Nika Gvaramia, the founder of the main opposition television channel, to three and a half years in prison.

The case was widely seen as politically motivated, and some accused Georgia Dream of orchestrating Gvaramia's imprisonment to derail the country's EU candidacy.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who is at odds with the ruling party, pardoned Gvaramia in June.

The next serious test was a bill on so-called foreign agents reminiscent of Russian legislation used to suppress Kremlin critics, which was submitted for review during the parliamentary session in March.

Despite significant opposition by NGOs and the media -- which called the bill a "Russian law" that aimed to destroy civil society -- the bill passed its first reading.

Bills need three readings to become law.

After three days of protests and street demonstrations, lawmakers backed down and rejected the bill, though to this day Georgian Dream officials continue to say that such a law is necessary.

The ruling party's members have long attacked the EU and its institutions and politicians. The party has deployed a set of actions that the Russian propaganda machine uses against the West all over the world.

In its rhetoric, it has accused Europe of wanting to draw Georgia into a war against Russia, impose same-sex marriages or incest and force Georgia to lose its national identity.

"Before November the Georgian government had delivered on only three of the 12 mandatory recommendations, and not even completely," said Gigiadze, the former ambassador.

"The expectation that this same government will implement the other nine recommendations by October 2024 is practically baseless," he said.

Forced to heed the public

But even the most pro-Russian players need to honor public opinion in the country, where up to 90% of the population supports accession to the EU.

As a result, the government's rhetoric has gradually become conciliatory.

"Despite strong opposition, we did everything to gain candidate status," Kakha Kaladze, the secretary general of the ruling party and mayor of Tbilisi, said after the European Council (EC)'s decision.

The EC defines the EU's general political priorities.

Kaladze had previously called EU candidacy "worthless."

Garibashvili, who earlier also said that "candidate status is only symbolic," took credit for the decision.

"I want to congratulate our party's founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose governance helped make this day and victory happen ... Today is a crowning achievement for our successful governance," Garibashvili said.