Prime Minister: EU has played ‘double game’ toward Georgia since 2022

Georgia–EU relations are currently in a state of crisis, largely because the issue of European integration has been used as a tool of pressure against Georgia since March 2022, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in an interview with Night Courier.

Kobakhidze said the European Union has effectively pursued a “double game” in its approach toward Georgia over the past several years.

“Ultimately, when Ukraine was first encouraged to apply for EU candidate status, it was logical that Moldova and Georgia would also submit applications. However, there is a sense that this process may not have been conceived as a genuine ‘open door’ policy - not only toward Georgia, but toward all countries - instead resembling a double standards approach on the part of the EU,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that this pattern has been evident in EU–Georgia relations from 2022 through 2025.

“What we have observed in Georgia’s case throughout 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 is that the European Union has in fact engaged in a double game toward Georgia. My impression is that when Ukraine was encouraged to apply for candidate status, EU membership for Ukraine was not truly envisioned at that moment. This was happening at a time when Russian tanks had already entered Kyiv,” Kobakhidze stated.