PM Kobakhidze re-accuses EU of ‘blackmail’ over membership status

Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has accused European Union institutions of using “bureaucratic blackmail” against his government after the country was denied EU candidate status in 2022.

Speaking to journalists in Guria on Tuesday, Kobakhidze said Georgia had been “unfairly” left out, while countries such as Moldova and Bosnia were granted candidate status despite, in his words, Georgia being recognised repeatedly as “ahead of all candidate states.”

The PM repeated his earlier claims that the EU’s decision was linked to Tbilisi’s alleged refusal to join the war in Ukraine. “We declined the demand to enter the war, and afterwards an absolutely unheard-of blackmail began,” he said, adding that European officials had openly called for the return of the opposition United National Movement to power.

Kobakhidze argued that such actions risked associating the EU with “hate and interference” in Georgia’s domestic politics. He insisted that his government remained ready for an “open and healthy discussion” with Brussels on all issues but claimed that EU institutions were avoiding dialogue.

“The truth is on Georgia’s side,” he said, stressing that his administration was upholding the rule of law and democracy while resisting outside attempts to change the country’s leadership.