Day: December 14, 2023

The EU Summit kicked off today with EU leaders gathering in Brussels for what is already being described as a “historic summit”. Among the pressing issues to be discussed at the December 14-15 Summit, which takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the crisis in Israel and Gaza, will be enlargement prospects and a pending deal to provide Ukraine with long-term stability and €50 billion in financial assistance. The looming question is whether the EU Council will be able to reach a consensus on the decision to open negotiations with Ukraine, with the fate of progress on the EU integration path for all enlargement package countries effectively in doubt due to the position of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Before the start of the summit, EU and member state leaders made public statements and answered questions, including on enlargement, which seems to be the most difficult issue to reach consensus on.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said: “Enlargement will take important part of discussions.” He called enlargement “the EU’s most important foreign policy” He also said: “ Enlargement is the strongest stability capacity that we have not only with Ukraine, but with other candidate countries in the Balkans and in the Caucasus. So it’s very much important to take the right decisions.”  When asked whether there is any chance that each country will be discussed separately he effectively dismissed such a possibility saying: “You all know what’s on agenda today. Certainly, there will be discussion about enlargement in in particular in the case of Ukraine” adding that Ukraine “has done incredible efforts to fulfill the conditions.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked on Germany’s position regarding Georgia’s candidacy said; “We support the proposal of the [EU] Commission.”

The man in the spotlight undoubtedly is Hungarian President Viktor Orban, whose resistance to starting negotiations with Ukraine has mixed up the cards and created uncertainty ahead of the EU Summit regarding the possibility of decision on the next step for the progress for the enlargement package countries said that Ukraine “has not fulfilled enlargement is not a theoretical issue. Enlargement is a merit-based legally- detailed process, which has preconditions. We have set up 7 preconditions and even by the evaluation of the commission three out of the seven are not fulfilled.  So, there is no reason to negotiate the membership of Ukraine now,” –he said adding “we have to come to that issue when the conditions are me.” He also denied any connection between Hungary’s receipt of money from the European Commission (€10 billion Hungary received from the EC yesterday) and the issue of financial aid to Ukraine, saying: “Hungary does not connect any Hungarian issue with the Ukrainian issue.”

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda said: “We have a historical chance to take a very bold decision on starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova”. Other countries are waiting too, my friends from Geo really did a lot to implement reforms too. Yes, there are some issues that can be discussed in the future, adding we can take decisions on Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and other countries.

Estonian PM Kaja Kallas said: “We have to reach some kind of agreement. “we don’t have time to procrastinate or push it to the future.” Asked what signal it will be for Russia if EU leaders don’t agree on enlargement issues: “, it’d definitely be a bad signal.” She said: “It’s a political decision on our side, but we should stick to the [EC] report.” Estonian Prime Minister expressed skepticism about the prospect for reaching a consensus regarding the start of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte said: “It‘s crucial to get positive decision on Ukraine and Moldova”.  Asked about Georiga he said: “We support every proposal commission has made in terms enlargement package, including Georgia.” Rutte expressed hope that the consensus on enlargement issue will be reached at the EU Council meeting.

European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola said Ukraine and Moldova these 12 countries have delivered, adding that “they did so under most difficult circumstances.” She said that now it’s important to open negotiations, that would be decisions merit-based. She said: “this also applies to Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina once conditions have been met.” Mezzola stressed: “We must consider that global geo-political situation” adding that there is price for not failing to act.” She said: “EU position is clear, it [enlargement] is an investment in peace and security, it brings benefits to society and to the peoples.” She also stressed that EU itself should be ready for an enlargement noting that she asked the EU Council to “take these discussions seriously”.

From the day Georgia filed its EU membership bid alongside Moldova and Ukraine, we have been hearing that this is a unique window of opportunity in the history of EU enlargement, a chance not to be missed. This assertion has put an extra weight on the shoulders of the Georgian people.

Katie Shoshiasvili is researching democratization in Georgia. She works at Transparency International – Georgia.

Earlier this year, Nana Malashkhia and Salome Kenchiashvili stood up against the water canons with the EU and Georgian flags proudly flying in their hands. Their photos, which made the rounds in the European newspapers, showed that Georgia will not give up on its future in the European Union. But they have also implied that in this fight, Georgian people are often pitted against their own government.

Georgia took off on its EU journey soon after restoring its statehood and freeing itself from Soviet claws. Ukraine and Georgia traveled a similar path toward Europe, advancing as far as possible through PCAs, AAs, DCFTAs, and all other abbreviations Brussels made available to them. 

The desire to join the European family stems from these countries’ aspirational alignment with European values and culture and the vision of their future as democratic, prosperous, and free.  

This is also a choice taken against the Russian menace. The imperial shadow of Russia repeatedly brought death, starvation, war, degradation of national identity, and destruction of its institutions to Georgia and Ukraine. The two nations have made their choice clear a long time ago. What they lacked was a path and a roadmap to get the membership. Russia’s war of aggression and Ukraine’s heroic resistance ultimately made Europeans realize the responsibility to provide such a path.

But progress – even if desired – is often not linear, and Georgia meets this moment in bad shape. Once the front-runner of the Eastern Partnership, Georgia fell behind Ukraine and Moldova in the recent EU enlargement round last year, primarily due to a lack of alignment with the EU foreign policy and failing to implement comprehensive democratic reforms. 

Russia’s continued occupation of the Georgian provinces, death, and destruction that Moscow brought onto Ukraine has raised the specter of traumatic fear in Tbilisi. Georgia has experienced intensified Russian malign influence since the start of the war, and the current ruling party, which came to power pledging to deconflict its relations with the Kremlin, showed a willingness to come under that influence.

While Russian-style narratives of conservatism proliferate on state-controlled media and social media channels, and Russian-style policy decisions are taken – like the “foreign agents law” that Ms. Malashkia and Ms. Kenchashvili protested against – Tbilisi also became enchanted with Victor Orban’s “illiberal” project. 

Mutual visits between Prime Minister Garibashvili and Orban have proliferated, and two countries have even held a joint cabinet meeting. At the conservative bash in Budapest, Garibashvili praised Orban as a leader and a “good Christian.” 

The ultra-conservative alliance with the worst enemy of Brussels, the bashing of the MEPs, and Georgia’s Western partners that became habitual in Tbilisi make Georgia an unpalatable candidate. Yet, it is crucial for Europe not to waver and to hear the underlying call of the Georgian people. Tying the knot with Georgia is also a pragmatic decision to make.

The EU must learn from its Balkan experience. In the past decade, the Union has faced the “before it’s too late” dilemma in the Western Balkans and chose to equivocate. As the EU hesitated to expand, the region’s countries proved hesitant to embrace democratic reforms in the rule of law, media freedom, fighting corruption, and more. Things got worse, not better. The EU’s “pragmatism” in the Western Balkans has put its reputation and security at risk, as Russia and China have gained political and economic ground. These external powers demonstrate that physical distance doesn’t negate the political influence of the authoritarian power, emphasizing the EU’s need for a cohesive political strategy amid growing power competition and challenges in the Western Balkans. 

The recent flareup in Kosovo showed that the specter of armed confrontation still hangs over the Balkans. It is crucial not to make a similar mistake in the Eastern neighborhood. 

Georgia is gearing up for parliamentary elections next year, and only hopes won’t suffice if the EU is serious about wishing to return the country to the path of democratic governance, rule of law, and reforms. The accession process could provide an incentive by mobilizing Georgia’s pro-European citizens and professionals, who can act as an internal leverage on the government. If wisely used, the accession process can also give the EU external leverage through various technical assistance and stabilization instruments.  

Officials in Brussels must increasingly come to terms with the fact that “Geopolitical Europe” is also a more decisive Europe. Giving in to the bully tactics of aggressive leaders leads to costly stalemates at crucial moments, as demonstrated by Orban’s willingness to hold the enlargement decisions hostage to his private pecuniary and partisan benefit.

The EU conditions need to be clarified and strengthened. The EU and European capitals must nudge the Georgian Dream to let the civil service do its job without partisan intervention, be open to sharing power even with parties it does not like, stop attacking the civil society and media, improve the protection of human rights, end political persecution and restore the independence of the courts. The EU must understand that these decisions are politically costly for Tbilisi – but the outcome of the EU membership is what Georgian people want, and if the path to getting to that objective is clear, any political force wishing to stay in power will have to adapt – or eventually leave. The EU must now demonstrate its raison d’être and let the Kremlin witness a milestone in the Georgia-EU relations.

The views and opinions expressed on Civil.ge opinions pages are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Civil.ge editorial staff

The government has approved the working procedure for the organization and holding of sitting and joint working meetings between the state commissions for the demarcation of the state border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The rules of procedure specifically stipulate that the date, time and place of the meetings are determined by agreement between the chairmen of the commissions. As a rule, the sessions are held consecutively in the territory of the Republic of Armenia or the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the shared border or in third countries, as well as in the video conference format.

In the event the meetings are held in the territory of one of the states, the host party creates all the necessary conditions for their conduct, including ensuring and guaranteeing the safety of all participants. The procedure also defines other necessary settings.