'Georgia has never seen darker day than yesterday' — Political analyst on European Commission’s report
Zakareishvili on EU report on Georgia
Commenting on the European Commission’s report on Georgia, published on 4 November, political analyst Paata Zakareishvili said the ruling Georgian Dream party’s main goal is to stay in power — something he believes the EU is indifferent to.
According to the analyst, the Georgian government is doing everything it can to ultimately push the country even further away from the EU.
According to Zakareishvili, Georgian Dream is satisfied with the negative tone of the report, as it is not a disaster for the party — at least until people take to the streets “for real.”
According to the European Commission’s 2025 enlargement report, Georgia’s process of European integration has effectively come to a halt. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos described it as the worst report ever prepared on a candidate country.
Paata Zakareishvili: “There are tens of thousands of people in Georgia who take to the streets in protest. It depends entirely on the people, not the EU, the US, China, or Russia. It depends solely on the Georgian people — on these tens of thousands, or even just a few hundred who attend protests every day, putting all other matters aside.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, I think it became clear to Georgian Dream that the Kremlin is not focused on them right now, and any support from Moscow can only be expected if they actively engage in Russian politics.”
Georgia still leads Armenia, holding candidate status, a visa-free regime with the EU, and so on. Armenia does not have these yet, but it is actively moving in that direction and could soon overtake us. The EU today tends to back countries that are on the move.
In the context of European integration, Georgia has never had a darker day than yesterday, when the European Commission’s report was published.
What we want will not happen, and what does happen will be insufficient. Sanctions are possible, such as suspending the visa-free regime for the elite. It would not benefit them, but they will find a way to manage.
Zakareishvili on EU report on Georgia
