Georgia says it will not enter EU membership talks until 2028, in snub to Brussels

By Felix Light

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday that the country would suspend talks on European Union accession until 2028, while also refusing budgetary grants from Brussels, after what it said was a "cascade of insults" by the bloc.

In a statement, the Georgian Dream governing bloc said that the EU was using the prospect of accession talks to "blackmail" Georgia, and to "organise a revolution in the country".

As a result, it said: "We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028."

The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution, but relations with Brussels have deteriorated sharply in recent months. The EU has already said that Georgia's application is frozen.

There was no immediate comment from the EU on Georgian Dream's statement.

Opinion polls show that around 80% of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc's flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country.

Georgian Dream says it wants to join the EU, but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years, even as it has deepened ties with neighbouring Russia.

Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that EU membership might harm Georgia's economy, as it would require Tbilisi to cancel visa-free agreements and trade deals with other countries.

Foreign and domestic critics of Georgian Dream say the party, which is seen as dominated by its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is steering Georgia back towards Moscow, from which it gained independence in 1991.

The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, but has said that a raft of laws passed by Georgian Dream since, including curbs on "foreign agents" and LGBT rights, are authoritarian, Russian-inspired, and obstacles to EU membership.

Western countries have also said that an October election, in which official results gave the Georgian Dream bloc almost 54% of the vote, was marred by violations.

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday calling for the elections to be annulled and re-run, and for sanctions to be imposed on key Georgian Dream figures.

Georgian Dream said on Wednesday it had chosen Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former deputy with a long record of anti-Western statements, as its candidate for Georgia's mostly ceremonial presidency.

Kavelashvili is set to replace the pro-EU incumbent, Salome Zourabichvili, who has repeatedly accused Georgian Dream of deliberately derailing Georgia's EU hopes.