Irakli Kobakhidze: “Georgia is moving closer to the European Union whilst Ukraine and Moldova are drifting further away.”

Verdict: FactCheck concludes that Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement is FALSE.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claims that Georgia is moving closer to the European Union whilst other candidate members – namely, Ukraine and Moldova – are drifting further away:

“In reality, if any country has been moving as close to the European Union as possible, it is Georgia. Unfortunately, Ukraine and Moldova face different challenges in terms of politics, economics, democracy, corruption, etc. These two countries are drifting further away from the European Union. We are closing the gap qualitatively. Georgia is drawing nearer to the standards necessary for EU integration…

Georgia stands out amongst candidate members as the most democratic, holds the freest elections and fosters the most business-friendly environment. Georgia has the lowest levels of corruption amongst all candidate members. The aforementioned aspects are most significant than those political statements.

Statements fluctuate and often change due to political conjunctures.

Ultimately, it is essential how committed a country remains in its progress and Georgia is standing the strongest amongst all candidate members. Once the regional challenges – particularly the war in Ukraine – are resolved, perspectives will shift and Georgia’s progress in economy, democracy and other sectors will be duly recognised.”

FactCheck took interest in Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement, investigating the accuracy of the aforementioned statement regarding Georgia’s progress towards the European Union as compared to Ukraine and Moldova. Whilst Irakli Kobakhidze referenced several important criteria for comparisons between these three countries, this article will concentrate on the core of his statement – Georgia’s progress toward EU integration. Kobakhidze mentioned various relevant indicators but then he underlined that the claim centred on fulfilling the standards necessary for EU accession.

Firstly, it is essential to note that the stage of accession that a country has reached is a clear indicator of how close it is to EU integration.

Georgia was presented with an opportunity to submit its application for membership in the European Union due to shifts in the geopolitical landscape following Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Georgia submitted its application on 3 March 2022. In response, the European Council made a historic decision on 23 June 2022, recognising Georgia’s European perspective and expressing readiness to grant it the status of a candidate country. However, whilst Ukraine and Moldova – the two other countries of the ‘Associated Trio’ – were granted candidate status, Georgia was required to address 12 priorities before a similar decision could be made.

The European Commission recommended that the European Council grant Georgia candidate status, according to the EU Enlargement Policy report published on 8 November 2023. Furthermore, Georgia would be able to advance to the negotiation stage for EU accession once it addressed nine specific steps. Simultaneously, the European Commission recommended that the European Council begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.

The European Union began accession negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine on 25 June 2024, holding the first Accession Conferences at the ministerial level as a result of the aforementioned conclusions. However, during this period, the European Union halted the integration processes with Georgia. The decision was made due to the insignificant progress on the nine specified steps and the “recent actions by the Georgian Parliament.” The European Council’s conclusions from 27 June 2024 emphasised serious concerns regarding recent developments in Georgia, particularly the law adopted on transparency of foreign influence, which represents backsliding on the steps set out in the Commission’s recommendation for candidate status (referring to the aforementioned nine steps). The European Council called on Georgia’s authorities to clarify their intentions, as their current course of action jeopardises Georgia’s EU path, de facto “leading to a halt of the accession process.”

Considering the circumstances highlighted above, whilst the European Union has commenced accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, integration processes with Georgia have been halted. These developments contradict Irakli Kobakhidze’s claims regarding Georgia’s progress towards the European Union as compared to Ukraine and Moldova.

The primary metrics for evaluating progress toward EU integration are the conclusions outlined by the European Union in its Enlargement Reports.

The European Union outlined specific steps for each of the three aforementioned countries after they submitted their accession applications (in particular, 12 initial priorities and nine final steps for Georgia). Subsequently, progress in addressing these priorities is evaluated in the EU Enlargement Report which assesses advancements in areas such as democracy, legal framework improvements, fighting corruption, human rights, etc.

Georgia fully addressed three of the 12 priorities, whilst Moldova fulfilled six of its nine steps and Ukraine met four of its seven steps, according to the Report. This indicates that the reforms undertaken by both Moldova and Ukraine are moving them closer to the European Union (both qualitatively and contextually) than Georgia. Moreover, Georgia’s progress in addressing the nine steps specified after it has been granted candidate status has been assessed as insignificant by the European Union. The adoption of a law on transparency of foreign influence by the Georgian Parliament in 2024 contradicts the nine steps and EU values according to the European Union and its member states. This law and the negative developments around it are pushing Georgia further away from the European Union, according to Josep Borell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The EU Enlargement Report also assesses various criteria (chapters) necessary for EU accession and groups them into thematic clusters. Although Georgia demonstrates a higher level of readiness in certain areas as compared to Ukraine and Moldova in this context, this is not consistent across all indicators and progress varies by groups (there are 35 total chapters). EU accession priorities, which mainly address fundamental issues (the first cluster), are outlined in the priorities/steps outlined by the European Union. Georgia lags behind Ukraine and Moldova in fulfilling the aforementioned priorities/steps in this context, as discussed previously.

Considering the analysis above, Irakli Kobakhidze’s claims that Georgia is moving closer to the European Union – particularly regarding the standards necessary for EU integration – whilst Ukraine and Moldova are drifting further away, are FALSE. In reality, the European Union has commenced accession negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine but has halted integration processes with Georgia, based on the evaluations of current progress.