Georgia Ranks 3rd in EaP Index, “Has Lost Considerable Ground”, Says Report
A new Eastern Partnership (EaP) index was launched on January 24, ranking Georgia third among six EaP countries with an overall score of 0.63. Moldova came first and Ukraine second. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus follow in fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively.
The 2023 edition addresses Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and provides detailed insights into its impact on the reform progress of the six EaP countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine), as well as their rapprochement with the European Union. The document ranks the EaP countries in three areas: 1. Democracy, Good Governance and Rule of Law; 2. Policy Convergence with the EU; 3. Sustainable Development.
Regarding Georgia, the document states: “Georgia lost considerable ground across both democracy and good governance, and policy convergence indicators,” adding that “in fact Georgia’s performance was characterized by a significant downwards drift, if not a sharp plunge in many areas which reflects the country’s political polarization.”
The document emphasizes that “significant decreases occurred in almost all thematic areas overseen by the index, including democratic rights, elections and political pluralism, the fight against corruption, human rights protection mechanisms, state accountability, independent media, public administration, market economy, freedom, security and justice, and environment and climate policy” with freedom of assembly being a notable exception.
Despite being granted EU candidate status in November 2023, the Index’s results for Georgia reflect a significant deterioration in the state of good governance and the rule of law, coupled with
widespread political polarization.
The Index meanwhile acknowledges Moldova and Ukraine’s achievements in meeting EU reform goals and “accelerating their alignment with the EU despite very difficult circumstances,” adding that “the two EU candidate countries are steadily making the kinds of systemic changes that Brussels expects them to do to proceed along the accession path.”
The report recognizes Moldova’s achievements in electoral reform, political pluralism, the fight against corruption, and equal opportunities, whereas for Ukraine, the report takes into account the difficult effects of war but highlights the country’s achievements in the areas of media independence, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and association, independence of the judiciary, and the fight against corruption.
The Eastern Partnership Index (EaP Index or the Index) is a data- driven civil society-produced monitoring tool that charts reform developments in the six Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine) towards democracy, good governance and rule of law, policy convergence with the EU and sustainable development. The EaP Index is produced by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum with the financial support of the European Union.
Also Read:
- 26/12/2023 – Government’s Plan of Measures to Implement European Commission’s Nine Steps
- 08/11/2023 – EC Spells Out Nine Steps for Georgia to Start Accession Negotiations
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
