The EU’s decision to only grant Georgia EU candidate status after addressing certain priorities, unlike Ukraine and Moldova, continues to make waves.
Commenting to Stuttgarter Nachrichten, German ECR MEP Lars Patrick Berg states:
“Denying Georgia accession status is a terrible sign and a big strategic mistake by the EU”, adding that there is a danger that Georgia could now orient themselves politically more “towards the East”, out of disappointment.
A similar case is made by Taz Ali, a foreign reporter for Inews. She writes:
“Once a victim of Russia’s aggression, Georgia is now moving into Vladimir Putin’s orbit after a key EU decision that the bloc may come to regret.”
She goes on to describe how a powerful figure in Georgia is billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, describing that since he got to power, “the country has been mired by democratic backsliding and accusations of corruption. Opposition figures were jailed and the country pursued closer ties with Russia. (…)
Many of the EU Commission’s concerns around Georgia’s democracy is centred around the Georgian Dream Party government and the continuing influence of Mr Ivanishvili, who no longer holds any political position but has been described as an informal ruler. (…)
The Georgian government has refused to implement meaningful sanctions on the Kremlin and has been criticised by Ukraine over its lack of support.”
EU-Erweiterung:Enttäuschung in Georgien 🇬🇪 https://t.co/PEDAD5ZbeT
— Lars Patrick Berg MdEP (@L_P_Berg) June 22, 2022
https://mobile.twitter.com/Shamemovement/status/1540369992809594881
Picture: Mountains in Georgia (via Richard Mcall from Pixabay)