Georgia’s Winding Road to EU Membership

Georgia is moving toward Europe while retreating from democracy. Following the European Commission’s recommendation to grant the country EU candidate status, with many conditions attached, European leaders will meet in December to confirm whether Georgia merits this new position.

The controversy over candidate status is just the latest chapter in a long, turbulent story of EU-Georgia relations. Now, Brussels faces difficult choices if it wants to continue supporting Georgia’s democracy and European aspirations despite its increasingly illiberal government.

To discuss what is at stake in the EU-Georgia relationship, Carnegie Europe invites you to an online discussion with Natalie Sabanadze, author of the article “EU-Georgia Relations: A Local Show of the Global Theater.” Sabanadze will be joined by Kornely Kakachia, director of the Georgian Institute of Politics. Thomas de Waal will moderate.

This event is part of Europe’s East, a Carnegie Europe project on European policy toward Eastern Europe and Russia.