Georgia postpones EU membership bid until 2028

Georgia has postponed its bid to join the EU after the European Parliament voted to reject the results of the country’s recent election.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the bloc of “blackmail” and said his government would drop its pursuit of membership “until the end of 2028”.

It came hours after European legislators called for last month’s parliamentary elections in Georgia to be re-run, citing “significant irregularities”.

Kobakhidze’s announcement sparked protests in cities across Georgia, with thousands gathering outside the parliament building in capital Tbilisi, blocking traffic and waving EU flags.

Since 2012, Georgia has been governed by the Georgian Dream party, which critics have accused of trying to move the country away from the EU and closer to Russia.

The party claimed victory in last month’s election, but opposition MPs are boycotting the new parliament, alleging fraud, while the country’s President, Salome Zurabishvili, has called the vote “unconstitutional”.

On Thursday, the European Parliament backed a resolution describing the election as the latest stage in Georgia’s “worsening democratic crisis” and saying that the ruling party was “fully responsible”.

It expressed particular concern about reports of vote buying and manipulation, voter intimidation and harassment of observers.

Following the resolution, Kobakhidze said his government had “decided not to bring up the issue of joining the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028”.

Georgia has had official EU candidate status since 2023, though Brussels had already halted the accession process earlier this year over a Russia-style law targeting organisations accused of “pursuing the interests of a foreign power”.

Kobakhidze said Georgia would continue to implement the reforms required for accession and that it still planned to join by 2030, but added that it was “crucial for the EU to respect our national interests and traditional values”.

Former Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili told the BBC the country was at an “unprecedented” turning point.

“Since we were independent 30 years ago, we were clearly pro-western, we were clearly pro-Nato and clearly pro-EU and this was uniting any government that was in place.

“But in this case, we see that there is a co-ordinated, I would say operation, which is co-ordinated by the bunch of people who are controlling power in Tbilisi and the Kremlin to basically bring Georgia as fast as this is possible to Russian orbit.”

A tense stand-off between protesters and riot police continued through the night in Tbilisi on Thursday.

Demonstrators set up barricades in the streets, while police used pepper spray and water cannon on the crowds.

“Georgian Dream didn’t win the elections. It staged a coup,” said 20-year-old Shota Sabashvili.

“There is no legitimate parliament or government in Georgia. We will not let this self-proclaimed prime minister destroy our European future.”

Ana, a student, said Georgian Dream was “going against Georgian people’s will and want to drag us back to USSR”

“That will never happen because Georgian people will never let this happen,” she told the Associated Press.