The representatives of Georgian non-governmental organizations presented the final assessment on fulfilling the EC’s 12 priorities defined for granting the candidate status to Georgia.

“The European Commission will evaluate the progress of fulfilling the 12 priorities defined for granting the candidate status to Georgia in a month approximately. Before that, under the leadership of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, 9 civil society organizations prepared their final assessment document – EU CANDIDACY CHECK which reflects the progress achieved by the Georgian authorities in this context, as well as the current state of play and the steps to be implemented in the future.

According to CSOs’ assessments, at this stage, one priority is fully implemented, two priorities are mostly fulfilled, seven priorities are partially fulfilled, and two priorities (deoligarchisation and political polarization) defined by the European Union are to be fulfilled. The Civil society assessments are largely in line with the interim assessment presented by the EU in June 2023.

The 6th edition of the EU CANDIDACY CHECK combines the expectations of EU institutions, member states, civil society, and political groups.

The document comprises the assessments of the following organizations: Open Society Georgia Foundation, Democracy Research Institute, Georgian Court Watch, Georgian Democracy Initiative, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, Governance Monitoring Center, Georgia’s Reforms Associates, Partnership for Human Rights, and Sapari.

About a month remains for the authorities to take advantage of this historical opportunity and fulfill all the priorities defined by the European Commission. Meanwhile, civil society together with the citizens of Georgia are waiting for the Commission’s final decision as EU membership is a strong will of the people of Georgia,” notes the final evaluation of NGOs.