Irakli Kobakhidze, the chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, expressed optimism about Georgia’s obtaining candidate status for EU membership.

He said that a change in rhetoric by the opposition and non-governmental organizations suggests this optimism.

“In a couple of days, the European Commission will release its conclusion on candidate status, followed by the European Council’s final decision in approximately a month. Our outlook is optimistic, and indications suggest the country will obtain candidate status. The noticeable shift in rhetoric from the opposition and NGOs also indicates the likelihood of this.

Recall the efforts by these parties and NGOs to impede the country’s candidacy previously. They conveyed to the European Commission that only two recommendations had been implemented.

Opposition parties openly lobbied against candidate status. Recently, Petre Tsiskarishvili acknowledged the necessity of obtaining the status but noted that discussions should be held with European partners on the timing. The opposition directly admitted that they lobbied against the status. Similar sentiments were echoed by NGOs and Salome Zourabichvili, who actively opposed the country’s candidacy,” Kobakhidze said.

GD chair accused the opposition of prioritizing narrow party interests over the state’s welfare.

“Their actions were motivated by concerns about a potential decline in their ratings. However, responsible political entities, driven by a sense of patriotism, should prioritize the interests of the state over narrow party concerns. The country’s best interest was to secure candidate status in December. In light of their efforts to obstruct this process, the public should scrutinize their true motivations, revealing a lack of commitment to the state,” Kobakhidze added.