Kobakhidze Calls EU’s Initial Refusal to Grant Georgia Candidate Status ‘Extremely Unfair’

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has described the European Union’s initial decision not to grant Georgia candidate status alongside Ukraine and Moldova as a major mistake and an “extremely unfair decision”, arguing that there were no grounds for treating Georgia differently.

Speaking at the EU Enlargement Summit organised by Euronews in Brussels, Kobakhidze recalled that Georgia submitted its application for EU membership in March 2022, alongside Ukraine and Moldova, but was not granted candidate status at the time.

“I believe this was a major mistake and an extremely unfair decision, because there were absolutely no grounds for it,” Kobakhidze said.

According to the Prime Minister, subsequent assessments published by the European Commission showed that Georgia had performed significantly better than Moldova or Bosnia and Herzegovina in several areas.

“Nevertheless, these countries were granted candidate status, while Georgia’s application was once again rejected,” he said.

Kobakhidze claimed that the decision was subsequently exploited by certain political groups, including Georgia’s domestic opposition and non-governmental organisations receiving funding from European and other foreign sources.

He alleged that these groups attempted to organise a revolution, using the EU’s refusal to grant Georgia candidate status as a justification.

“It was quite a strange situation. Ultimately, their attempt failed,” the Prime Minister said.

Kobakhidze noted that Georgia subsequently spent approximately 18 months working to secure EU candidate status, describing the process as particularly challenging.

“We had to fulfil first 12 and then nine priorities. We were receiving different agendas from the European Commission, and Georgia has always remained committed to fulfilling these obligations,” he said.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Georgia remains fully committed to implementing its Association Agreement agenda with the European Union.