The European Council will meet in Brussels on December 14-15 to discuss the enlargement package, which involves ten countries. Among the key considerations are granting Georgia the status of a candidate for EU membership, initiating membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, also issue of Western Balkan countries.

Decisions at the European Council require consensus among the leaders of the 27 EU member states, with the final decision set to be announced during the two-day summit.

In preparation for the summit, on December 12, the ministers of foreign and European affairs of EU member states met. The Council of Ministers’ conclusion on enlargement acknowledged the European Commission’s November 8 report on Georgia and its recommendation, expressing anticipation for further discussions on the matter.

The European Parliament, on its part, passed a resolution urging the Council of the European Union to confer candidate status on Georgia.

The European Commission had previously issued a positive recommendation to the European Council on November 8 for granting Georgia the status of an EU candidate country.

The chair of the ruling Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced in March 2022 that Georgia applied to the European Union to receive the status of a candidate for membership. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed the formal application for EU membership on March 3 of the same year.