Georgia's Path to Euro-Atlantic Integration Stalls Amid Political Turmoil
By Malkhaz Matsaberidze
Monday, July 22, 2024
Ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, Georgia is not only not moving forward on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration, but is also rapidly moving beyond the officially declared foreign policy course and its traditional allies. The relations between Georgia and the West have reached a dead end. According to experts, changing the situation and renewing the Western vector in foreign policy is possible only in case of the victory of the Western-oriented opposition in the parliamentary elections.
Georgian Dream openly distanced itself from the West after Russia's attack on Ukraine. They explained the clearly pro-Russian steps with the interests of the country's security. In the West, they treated it with some understanding. The war in Ukraine suddenly raised the prospect of joining the European Union. In order to move forward on this path, it was necessary to implement reforms, which the European Union formulated first in the form of 12 conditions, and then in the form of 9 reservations. The Georgian Dream for the most part only imitated the fulfilment of these conditions. Nevertheless, based on geopolitical considerations, Georgia was not distanced from Ukraine and Moldova and given the status of a candidate for the European Union.
The policy of distancing from the West was also expressed in the intense anti-Western rhetoric of the Georgian government, who began talking about the "Global War Party", which "wanted to drag Georgia into a war against Russia". The West was accused of organising a coup in Georgia in the form of a "Rose Revolution" and of new coup attempts. Often this rhetoric turned into personal insults of Western politicians. In the West, this rhetoric was considered a misunderstanding and an expression of "Russian propaganda".
The "transparency law" turned out to be a turning point in the West's policy of "turning a blind eye" to the actions of the Georgian government, which, in accordance with the Russian model, is directed against the non-governmental sector and the West in general. In March of this year, the consideration of the law by Georgian Dream was followed by large protests, and the West repeatedly warned the government that the adoption of this law would have its consequences in relation to the representatives of the Georgian government and the country. Georgian Dream did not take into account these warnings and on May 30, after overcoming the veto of the president, it finally passed the law.
They moved to action in the West. The Americans began by personally sanctioning government representatives, imposing visa restrictions. Although the specific individuals sanctioned were not publicly announced, the media estimates around 30 people are affected. All those suspected of being sanctioned deny the claims. The reaction of the West caused by the policy of the Georgian government became clear to everyone when specific steps were already taken openly, and it first of all affected the field of defence. The USA postponed the joint military training "Worthy Partner" planned for July 25 - August 6 in Georgia for an indefinite period.
These exercises have been held annually in Georgia since 2016. Cancelling drills is just the beginning. According to Michael Carpenter, the senior director of the European direction of the National Security Council of the USA, all the programs in the USA with Georgia are in the process of review.
After the US, the European Union also started to revise its relations with Georgia. On June 27, EU leaders agreed on the EU's strategic agenda for the next period in Brussels. In relation to Georgia, they agreed to stop Georgia's EU integration process joining, while negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine have started.
According to Pawel Harczynski, the ambassador of the European Union, the reason for this is the law "on the transparency of foreign influence" and the anti-Western, anti-European rhetoric unleashed in the country. All this is completely incompatible with the declared goal of joining the European Union.
Also, Georgia will no longer receive the 30 million euros allocated for the defence sector, which will be diverted to help the media and civil society. A large part of the E''s aid has so far come to the public sector.
The statements of the representatives of the Georgian authorities were made in consideration of the upcoming elections. According to these statements, nothing much happened. Joining the European Union is not expected yet, and when the EU enlargement is on the agenda, Georgia will be among the new members. The message "Georgia will be a member of the European Union in 2030" is still valid. As for the suspension of military cooperation, this is called a "regrettable misunderstanding", which hurts the West as well as Georgia.
Such statements of Georgian Dream are aimed at ordinary voters, who are convinced that the West is trying to bring Georgia to its knees, forcing it to "engage in war", a relatively new propaganda thesis has emerged that the USA does not want Georgia to cooperate with China, and cooperation with China brings Georgia great profits.
This persistent official propaganda obviously affects ordinary voters, convincing them that "nothing special is happening" and that the West of Georgia is "unjustly oppressing".
Representatives of the pro-Western opposition believe that the situation will be quickly corrected if the current government is replaced after the elections and a coalition of opposition parties comes to power. However, the opposition is still in the process of organising.