EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos told the Georgian outlet Pirveli that Georgia will not become an EU member by 2030 under the policies of the ruling party, Georgian Dream.
According to her, Georgian Dream is conducting propaganda against Georgia’s EU membership.
“The arrest of journalists, political opponents, and civil society representatives does not meet our expectations for a candidate country [for EU membership].
That is why I urge the Georgian authorities to stop taking anti-democratic actions that push Georgia further away from the European Union.
We know that the Georgian government claims the country will join the EU by 2030, but this will be impossible if it continues down this path — the policies of Georgian Dream will not work.
We are developing a new mechanism to suspend the visa-free regime, which will be approved in November, after which we will consider various options and possibilities regarding Georgia’s visa-free travel.
Georgian Dream simply needs to listen and pay attention to what we are doing in Europe.
I must repeat: Georgia is a candidate country. Holding this status imposes responsibilities and obligations, and if the country does not fulfill them, we cannot say that Georgia is on the European path.”
“I don’t care that [the Georgian authorities] are spreading lies about me. But the fact that they are putting [innocent] people in prison really hurts.
I am a politician and I know that such things are inevitable in my profession, so I don’t care what they say about me personally. But when they spread lies about the European Union, when they claim they will bring the country into the EU themselves, that really worries me.
In the long term, we will always be ready to talk to people who defend European values, democracy, and free and independent media. We will always engage with those who listen to their people.”
On October 20, 2025, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said after a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers that the situation in Georgia regarding the rule of law and human rights has worsened.
According to her, the developed simplified mechanism to suspend visa liberalization will allow the EU to suspend the visa-free regime for certain groups. Kallas also added that personal attacks on ambassadors of EU member states are unacceptable.”