EU Parliament Committee Adopts Critical Report on Georgia
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, May 7, 2026
The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted a sharply critical report on Georgia on May 5, passing it by 53 votes to 14 with two abstentions. Georgia's Foreign Ministry wasted no time denouncing it as "entirely detached from reality."
The report, drafted by Lithuanian MEP Rasa Jukneviciene of the European People's Party and based on the European Commission's 2025 assessment, argues that Georgia has seen backsliding across all nine priorities set as conditions for EU candidate status. It accuses the Georgian Dream government of conducting an "orchestrated and systematic campaign" against the EU using "manipulative narratives, disinformation and conspiracy theories," and describes the situation in the country as having continued to "deteriorate dramatically."
The document "deplores" the aftermath of the October 2024 parliamentary elections, which it characterizes as "rigged," and voices concern over what it calls a "rapid dismantling" of democratic institutions and pluralism. It also criticizes recent amendments to the Electoral Code, arguing they "further strengthened the dominance of the ruling party and introduced new restrictions on registration for local observers, media, and electoral subjects."
On legislation, the report condemns laws it says "aim to stifle civil society and independent media," including amendments to the law on grants that criminalize receiving foreign funding without government approval, making it "practically impossible for international financial support to reach civil society and media." It calls on authorities to repeal these laws and "release all political prisoners and other illegally detained persons without delay."
The report calls for targeted personal sanctions against Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, party leaders, judges, prosecutors and other officials held responsible for "the continuous democratic backsliding in Georgia, electoral fraud, human rights violations, and the persecution of political opponents and activists." It also flags that Georgia's alignment with EU foreign policy statements has fallen to 40%, with particular disappointment that Georgia "did not systematically align with international and EU initiatives in support of Ukraine" and "has still not aligned with the vast majority of sanctions against Russia, Belarus and Iran." The document states that "having abandoned the path of Euro-Atlantic integration, Georgian Dream is making a strategic turn towards cooperation with China, Russia and Iran."
Ahead of the vote, Jukneviciene said the Georgian government "has done everything it can to convince people, political groups, pro-European political groups, of a very different political view that the situation in the country does not meet any of the criteria for EU candidacy." She added: "I believe in the European perspective of Georgia and the Georgian people."
Georgia's Foreign Ministry rejected the report in sweeping terms. It said the document, "through deliberate distortion of facts, absurd allegations, and information manipulation, spreads disinformation, thereby damaging the reputation of the European Parliament" and undermining Georgian public trust in the EU. The ministry warned that "EU institutions are being used to carry out targeted attacks against the Georgian state, its democratic institutions, society, and values, including the Georgian Orthodox Church, thereby grossly offending the religious sentiments of the nation."
It described the report as "yet another attempt to foster polarization within the Georgian society" and said that "blackmail and intimidation" directed at Georgian society are "unacceptable, as they constitute interference in the country's internal politics." The ministry also pushed back on what it called attempts to "weaponize the European integration process" and "impose conditions for EU membership that are directly linked to undermining the country's national security."
Despite the sharp rebuke, the ministry described Georgia as "a responsible and committed partner of the European Union" and said it remains ready "for mutually beneficial cooperation based on respect, trust, and shared values."
