“Work is already underway to prepare materials and respond to questionnaires for the next European Commission progress report, to give the Commission every opportunity to carry out a proper assessment,” Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili has told parliament.

She added that Georgia also intends to submit formal observations to the European Commission regarding the 2025 enlargement report.

“Alongside the report itself, we intend to present the Commission with our observations and comments, compiled across various agencies, relating to the 2025 enlargement report, so that issues which were assessed unfairly in that report do not go unanswered. If one can call it an assessment at all,” Botchorishvili said.

Regarding Georgia’s alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy, the Minister clarified that until Georgia becomes a full member of the European Union, complete alignment with EU foreign policy will remain challenging.

“The one issue I will single out as particularly problematic for us in the context of the European Commission’s assessment is Georgia’s alignment with EU foreign and security policy, which is frequently measured by nothing more than statistics on Georgia’s endorsement of EU statements. Given our country’s geopolitical position and the security challenges arising from Russia’s occupation of two of our regions, we have to exercise exceptional caution in assessing any process, and all the more so when it comes to taking concrete steps in foreign policy. We will never allow a mere desire to improve statistical indicators to place our national interests at additional risk. Accordingly, until Georgia becomes a full member of the European Union, full alignment with EU foreign policy will be challenging,” Botchorishvili stated.