Georgian Dream authorities have not been invited to the European Commission’s Enlargement Forum, set to be held in Brussels on November 18, after the recently published Enlargement Report sharply criticized Georgia for “serious democratic backsliding,” with EU officials describing it as a “candidate country in name only.”
The Forum, hosted by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, will bring together a “broad and diverse range of participants” and will be held under the slogan “Completing the Union, Securing Our Future.”
According to the official press release, “High-level EU, national and regional leaders, civil society representatives, entrepreneurs, artists, youth voices and policy experts from EU institutions, Member States and enlargement countries will engage in dialogue” as the event “reflects a wider effort to bring enlargement closer to people and foster a truly European conversation about the future of the Union.”
Online media outlet Netgazeti reported on November 6 that the Commission confirmed Georgia was not invited to the Forum.
On November 4, the European Commission released its annual Enlargement Package, slamming Georgia for “serious democratic backsliding,” including through restrictive laws “unprecedented” among candidate countries. The report said Georgia “further derailed from the EU path” in the reporting period, noting that “Georgian authorities systematically engaged in unprecedented, hostile anti-EU rhetoric, often echoing Russian-style disinformation.”
HR/VP Kaja Kallas said during the report’s presentation that Georgia has “no viable path to the European Union at this stage, unless conditions change dramatically,” stressing that the country is a candidate “in name only.”
As the report was published, a high-level Georgian Dream delegation began its visit to China to attend the China International Import Expo (CIIE). GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, while GD Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili held talks with her counterpart, Wang Yi.
Georgian Dream has been largely sidelined from official high-level EU meetings and gatherings since the government intensified anti-EU rhetoric and adopted several restrictive measures against civil society last year, and later unilaterally suspended the country’s EU accession process.
Georgia was also excluded from several recent EU gatherings, including the informal foreign ministers’ meetings in Copenhagen in September and Warsaw in May, as well as the EU Foreign Affairs Council session in Luxembourg on October 20, which was attended by foreign ministers from other Black Sea countries.
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