“Since 2022, when we formally submitted our application for candidate status to the European Union, we have faced fabricated obstacles on our journey towards EU membership,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated in an interview with TRT WORLD.

As the Head of Government emphasised, Georgia did not merely halt progress; the European bureaucracy chose to suspend Georgia’s European integration.

“If we compare Georgia with other candidate countries, such as Moldova or Bosnia, Georgia is far ahead in terms of democracy, human rights, and economic development. When considering all these criteria, Georgia is in a much stronger position. Incidentally, in January 2023, the European Commission published a report assigning points based on various criteria. The scoring indicated that Georgia outperformed Moldova and Bosnia. Yet, despite this, those two countries received candidate status, while Georgia’s application was rejected without explanation or substantiation.

This marked the beginning of a challenge in the relations between the European Union and Georgia. Ultimately, it was not just that Georgia halted its progress; the European bureaucracy decided to suspend Georgia’s European integration for a certain period,” the Prime Minister explained.