Georgia halts EU talks, stirs political crisis and protests

By the end of October, the European Commission announced the suspension of the accession process with Georgia, stating it would not recommend its reinstatement unless the authorities in Tbilisi begin adhering to EU values, including clarifying irregularities during the October parliamentary elections.

On Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze declared that Georgia is suspending membership talks until 2028. "We have decided not to address the issue of opening talks with the EU until the end of 2028," he said, adding that by this time, the country will also renounce all EU budget grants.

According to him, Georgia will be economically ready by the end of 2028 to start negotiations on EU membership. The Georgian Prime Minister stated that current EU accession talks "are being used as an instrument of blackmail against the country, which is unacceptable."

In various cities in Georgia, residents are taking to the streets to protest against the decision of the Georgian Dream government. President Salome Zourabichvili, commenting on the whole situation, claimed that "the illegal government has declared war on its own people." We asked Professor Grigol Julukhidze about Thursday's decision.

- It further confirms that Georgian Dream is almost openly pursuing its objective, which is to shift the political course towards Russia, even abandoning formal negotiations on Georgia’s integration with Europe. This process makes no sense and in my opinion is just the beginning of this very adverse path for Georgia in its relations with Brussels and the European Union - the professor conveyed.

When asked whether Georgia might attempt to join the BRICS group instead of pursuing EU membership in the future, the expert said:

- This scenario is already being discussed, and pro-government media are gauging public reactions, trying to present the BRICS group as a great alternative to the EU.

He explained that "in expert circles, everyone knows what this entails, but for the ordinary citizen, it may seem intriguing." - Now everything is tied to the government's ability to achieve its own political objectives through power - the entire government propaganda is based on violence and force - he stated, adding that if no social movement arises against the government, "they will continue doing everything that Russia commands them to do."

When asked if we can expect protests in Tbilisi, he replied: - There will be protests, there will be demonstrations, but in reality, if there is no strong opposition that can achieve its own political aims and use the ruling party’s mistakes, the chances for success are very, very slim.

- We already observed this during the parliamentary elections, where the opposition was poorly prepared for the event and divided. I think there will be demonstrations, and there will be arrests; the government currently holds the upper hand because the entire administrative resources are under government control, which means no one is likely to change anything right now - he said.

The expert emphasised that "this is the beginning of a very deep political crisis" and referred to the decision of the Georgian Dream party, which announced on Wednesday that their presidential candidate will be politician and former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili.

- We are talking not only about a former footballer but also about a person who does not possess higher education - he said, adding: - This is a psychological operation aimed at leading the nation to believe that nothing matters anymore - whether you have education or not. If you have such a president, the entire nation’s morale plummets to where nothing matters, questioning why live and stay in this country - it’s better to leave. This is a classic psychological operation dictated by Russia - he emphasised.