The EU has issued a stark assessment of Georgia’s prospects for membership on Tuesday, describing the country as “a candidate country in name only” due to serious democratic backsliding.
The warning came as the European Commission published its annual enlargement package, highlighting unprecedented setbacks among EU candidate countries.
According to Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Georgia is the only candidate country experiencing significant regression on its path to EU membership.
“Georgia has no viable path to the EU at this stage unless conditions change dramatically. It is now a candidate country in name only,” Kallas said.
EU Commissioner Marta Kos echoed her concerns, saying “in Georgia, the situation has sharply deteriorated, with serious democratic backsliding.”
“Georgian citizens demand a European future, and they have our support. For the Commission, the candidate status for Georgia exists only on the paper.”
The Commission’s report from Nov 4 notes that progress is positive for Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine, mixed for Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Turkey, and negative for Georgia, which is now only “nominally” a candidate.
It explains that Georgia’s progress has seen a stark deterioration since December 2024, when the European Council expressed regret over Tbilisi’s decision to suspend the accession process until 2028.
Restrictive laws targeting activists, civil society, independent media, and LGBTIQ people have undermined the country’s democratic foundations, the report continues.
The document criticizes systemic repression, including legislation curtailing civic space and fundamental rights, attacks on independent media, excessive use of force by law enforcement, and hostile rhetoric toward the EU. Institutions tasked with upholding the rule of law have been instrumentalized for partisan purposes, further eroding their integrity, it says.
The report also highlights flaws in recent elections, noting that the October 2024 parliamentary and October 2025 local polls were marked by high polarization, intimidation, coercion, and pressure on voters, undermining free choice. Judicial reforms have weakened independence and integrity, raising risks of judicial capture, according to the report’s findings.
“No steps have been taken by the authorities to reverse the course of action and bring the country back on its EU path,” the report stresses, noting that the imprisonment of opposition leaders and the ruling Georgian Dream party’s pledge to ban opposition parties and associated individuals constitute “a direct attack against democratic pluralism.”
On foreign and security policy, the Commission points out that Georgia’s alignment with EU standards remains low, with ongoing concerns over the re-export of high-priority and economically critical goods and a notable increase in flights to Russia. The EU urges Tbilisi to strengthen cooperation to prevent its territory or entities registered in Georgia from being used to circumvent EU sanctions.
The European Commission stresses that without substantial reforms, Georgia’s EU accession path remains blocked, and its status as a candidate is largely symbolic, underscoring the urgency for democratic restoration and alignment with EU values.
“The findings of the report are unfortunately devastating for Georgia’s European aspirations,” Pawel Herczynski, EU ambassador to Georgia, told reporters in Tbilisi on Tuesday.
“Georgia is not on the trajectory to become an EU member state, neither in 2030 nor later.”