Candidacy Check 2.0 - Evaluating Georgia's Status on Implementing the Nine Steps

Following the European Commission’s recommendation on November 8, 2023 to grant Georgia candidate status conditioned by the implementation of nine steps, an informal coalition of 12 civil society organizations^[1] developed a vision for the implementation of nine steps and continued to monitor the progress of reforms in the relevant priority areas. The main task of the coalition was to promote rapid progress on the path to European integration, in order to move to the next stage of the EU accession and open negotiations in a timely manner.

The coalition presented the aforementioned vision to all interested political parties and also approached the Georgian government administration with a proposal to cooperate and exchange information in the process of implementing the 9 steps. However, the administration did not express interest.

Reportedly to the first assessment published by the coalition in April 2024, limited progress has been made on only two of the nine steps, and no progress - on seven.

The second edition of the “Candidacy Check” 2024 provides a detailed description of the expectations regarding the steps to be taken in the nine directions defined by the EU, as well as the current state of play and challenges in terms of implementing reforms. According to assessments by civil society organizations, as of September 2024, only one components (protection of personal data) shows slight progress out of the nine steps, while there is no advancement seen in the remaining areas. In some cases, backsliding has been observed since April 2024.

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Four months after Georgia was granted candidate status, the ruling party reintroduced the draft law on the “Transparency of Foreign Influence.” Despite widespread and prolonged protests, as well as appeals from EU officials, representatives of member states, reliable international organizations, and other international partners, the Georgian Parliament adopted the law on May 28, overriding the President's veto. During the peaceful protests against this law, there have been frequent cases of physical violence against protesters by law enforcement officers and unidentified groups, without any appropriate legal consequences or accountability.

On June 27, 2024, the European Council expressed its serious concern regarding the recent developments in Georgia, addressing both the adoption of the law, as well as facts of intimidation, threats, and physical assaults against civil society, politicians, and the media. The Council defined Georgia's EU accession process as "de facto halted". The EU suspended €30 million in support from the European Peace Facility (EPF) for 2024, as well as €121 million in direct budget support, citing democratic backsliding in Georgia. By decision of the European Union institutions, high-level contacts with representatives of the Georgian authorities were also suspended. EU officials have repeatedly emphasized that, if the situation deteriorates further, the EU will consider additional measures, which could include suspending visa-free travel for Georgian citizens. Financial assistance and cooperation formats for Georgia have also been suspended by certain other partner countries.

In addition to the so-called “foreign agents” law, the ruling party initiated and adopted several other anti-democratic and controversial legislative acts, including legislation on the “protection of family values and minors,” restricting LGBT rights and the “Law on Offshores,” which enables the influx of assets of questionable origin into Georgia and increases the risks of money laundering.

As for the so-called foreign agents law, unfortunately, the Constitutional Court rejected its suspension. Consequently, based on this law, an enforcement process could be initiated against the civil society at any time, which would cause a serious damage on public organizations.

In parallel to these processes, the discrediting and disinformation campaign by the ruling party towards international partners reached unprecedented scale and has taken on an openly confrontational form.

The legislative initiatives of the ruling party, along with the rhetoric and other actions of high-ranking officials, clearly indicate a sharp shift in the government’s foreign policy direction, which effectively represents a rejection of EU membership.

However, against this backdrop, the “Georgian Dream” continues to assert that Georgia is moving towards the European Union, which serves to mislead the public.

Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on October 26, 2024. Serious irregularities were recorded by both local and international observation missions during the election campaign and on election day. EU officials are relying on initial assessments from the OSCE/ODIHR international observation mission, which did not declare the elections to be free and fair, and emphasize the need for a transparent investigation.

On October 30, the European Commission published a report on Georgia as part of the 2024 Enlargement Package. According to the report, there has been no progress in implementing the nine steps outlined by the European Commission. The European Commission condemns the adoption of the “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” and other subsequent negative developments, which have led to Georgia's backsliding on the path to European integration and the de facto suspension of the accession process.

Despite the fact that Georgia's EU accession process is on hold and there are no signs of a reversal in the government's foreign policy, the informal coalition of civil organizations considers it crucial to continue monitoring the implementation of the nine steps defined by the EU. The coalition believes that should there be a revert to the path of European integration, the reports prepared by civil society will provide an essential guidance for implementing swift reforms and will serve as a roadmap.

[1] Civil Society Foundation; Georgia’s Reforms Associates (GRASS); Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Foundation) (GFSIS); Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA); International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED); Georgian Court Watch; Social Justice Center (SJC); Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI); Governance Monitoring Center (GMC); Democracy Research Institute (DRI); Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI); Union “Sapari”.