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Introduction
In March 2022, Georgia applied for EU membership. On June 17, 2022, the European Commission recommended granting Georgia candidate status once the measures in relevant priority areas are taken. On June 24, the European Council recognized Georgia's European perspective and expressed readiness to grant Georgia the candidate status once the 12 priorities specified by the Commission have been addressed.
According to the European Commission's report on Georgia of November 8, 2023, 3 out of 12 priorities outlined by the European Union were considered fulfilled.
The European Commission recommended granting Georgia the status of a candidate country, on the understanding that the relevant steps (in 9 directions) are taken. On December 14, 2023, the European Council decided to grant Georgia the status of a candidate country subject to the fulfillment of the 9 steps defined by the European Commission.
On November 27, 2023, the Government Commission for Georgia’s EU Integration approved the plan "Measures to implement the steps identified for Georgia in the European Commission's Communication on Enlargement Policy for 2023", which was published by the Government of Georgia on December 25, 2023.
Civil organizations were not involved in the process of developing and approving the document, despite the fact that the involvement of civil society in the process of European integration was defined by the European Commission as one of the priority steps, and several statements were made by EU officials in this regard. In this regard, on January 9, 2024, ten civil society organizations issued a joint statement.
On March 14, 2024, the civil society organizations requested the administration of the Government of Georgia to provide reports on the activities implemented and scheduled according to the Government plan in order to fulfill the steps defined by the European Commission, as well as on the results achieved. Until the end of the reporting period, civil society organizations did not receive a response to the request.
At the beginning of April 2024, 'Georgian Dream' initiated the law on 'Transparency of Foreign Influence,' which fundamentally contradicts at least the first, second, third, and ninth steps defined by the European Union and distances Georgia from the European Union. As the developments related to the draft law extend beyond the reporting period, relevant analysis and assessments will be presented in the next report.
This document was prepared by 12 civil society organizations1 and it assesses the current situation in terms of Georgia's implementation of the 9 steps.
