Accession of Georgia to theEuropean Union
Status	Candidate (unscreeneed)
Earliest possible entry	2030
Application European perspective 23 June 2022[1] Membership application 3 March 2022 Screened & negotiations commence
Negotiations Chapters closed
Memberships & Treaties Association Agreement Economic and monetary policy Travel Energy Foreign and military policy Human rights and international courts International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Impact(27+1) Population 446,828,803 450,731,931 Area 4,233,262 km2 1,634,472 mi2 4,303,962 km2 HDI 0.896 GDP (PPP) $25.399 trillion GDP per capita (PPP) $56,928 GDP $17.818 trillion GDP per capita $39,940 Gini 30.0 Official Languages 24 25 (+1)(Georgian)

Politics of Georgia
Constitution Constitutional court Human rights LGBT rights
Executive President Salome Zourabichvili Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze
Legislature Parliament Chairperson:Shalva Papuashvili
Judiciary Supreme Court Constitutional Court
Local government Administrative divisions Regions(mkhare) Municipalities
Election Administration Recent elections Parliamentary:2016 2020 Presidential:2013 2018 Local:2017 2021 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister:Ilia Darchiashvili Diplomatic missions of /in Georgia Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Georgia–European Union relations Georgia–NATO relations Georgia–Russia relations Georgia–Ukraine relations
Related topics Rose Revolution United Nations Observer Mission Politics of Abkhazia Politics of South Ossetia
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The accession ofGeorgia to theEuropean Union (EU) is on the current agenda forfuture enlargement of the EU.

Following an application by Georgia in March 2022, the EU established Georgia's eligibility to become a member of the Union, recognizing the country as a potential candidate. On 8 November 2023, theEuropean Commission issued an official recommendation to grant candidate status to Georgia,^[2] which was confirmed on 14 December 2023.^[3]

On 28 November 2024, Georgian Prime MinisterIrakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia's EU accession negotiations had been suspended until the end of 2028,^[4] though he added thathis government would continue to implement the reforms required for accession and that it still planned for Georgia to join the EU by 2030.^[5]

It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, together withAlbania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Moldova,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Serbia,Turkey andUkraine.

TheEuropean Union andGeorgia have maintained relations since 1992, following an agreement between the formerEuropean Community and the newly independent Georgia.^[6] In April 1996, Georgia, along withArmenia andAzerbaijan, signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the European Union.^[7] On 12 January 2002, theEuropean Parliament noted that Georgia may enter the EU in the future.^[8] In 2006, a five-year "Action Plan" of rapprochement was implemented in the context of theEuropean Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). In 2009, relations between the two were further upgraded under the auspices ofEastern Partnership.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2013, theParliament of Georgia passed a bipartisan resolution supporting the integration into the European Union and NATO. The resolution was drafted jointly by the two largest political parties,Georgian Dream andUnited National Movement, and was voted by 96 deputies.^[9][10] In 2016, a comprehensiveAssociation Agreement between the EU and Georgia went into force, providing Georgia with visa-free travel to the EU, as well as access to some sectors of theEuropean Single Market. FollowingBrexit, most of the existing EU-Georgia agreements applicable to theUnited Kingdom were renegotiated and agreed upon in 2019bilaterally with the United Kingdom. In January 2021, Georgia was preparing to formally apply for EU membership in 2024.^[3][11] However, on 3 March 2022, Georgia submitted its membership application ahead of schedule, following theRussian invasion of Ukraine.^[12] In June 2022, theEuropean Commission established Georgia's eligibility to become a member of the EU, but deferred giving it official candidate status until after certain conditions were met.^[13] Later that month, theEuropean Council expressed readiness to grant Georgia the status of a candidate after completing a set of reforms recommended by the commission.^[14] On 8 November 2023, theEuropean Commission recommended giving candidate status to Georgia.^[15][16][17] On 14 December 2023, Georgia was given candidate status by the EU.^[18]

Following the Georgian government's approval of legislation which would requirenon-governmental organizations to register asforeign agents or "organizations carrying the interests of a foreign power" and disclose the sources of their income if the funds they receive from abroad amount to more than 20% of their total revenue, which led towidespread protests in the country, theEuropean Council stated in June 2024 that this represented "backsliding on the steps set out in the Commission's recommendation for candidate status" and that the accession process would bede facto on hold until the government changes course.^[19] On 9 July 2024, the EU ambassador in Georgia announced that the European Union had suspended the country's accession process as a result of the legislation.^[20][21] The European Union threatened Georgia with sanctions and suspension of relations if the country becomes a "one-party state" without political opposition following parliamentary elections in October 2024.^[22]

The2024 Georgian parliamentary election resulted in Georgian Dream (GD) retaining power, but was disputed by opposition parties which claimed that the vote was not free and fair and was subject to widespread voter fraud. TheEuropean Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution which rejected the validity of the results, and called for the vote to be repeated within a year.^[23] On 28 November 2024, Georgian Prime MinisterIrakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia's EU accession negotiations had been suspended until the end of 2028,^[24] though he added thathis government would continue to implement the reforms required for accession and that it still planned for Georgia to join the EU by 2030.^[5] Kobakhidze's statement on suspending the EU accession negotiations triggered a new wave of protests, one of the biggest since Georgia's independence from theSoviet Union. The2024 Georgian constitutional crisis continued, withMikheil Kavelashvili being inaugurated by GD aspresident of Georgia, whileSalome Zourabichvili continued to be seen by protestors (and herself) as retaining her legitimacy as president.^[25]

To enhance their relationship, the EU and Georgia began negotiating anAssociation Agreement (AA) and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.^[26] In November 2012,European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and EnlargementStefan Fule stated that the AA negotiations could be finalized by November 2013.^[27] In February 2013, Tamar Beruchachvili, the Deputy State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Georgia, stated that Georgia had no plans to join theEurasian Economic Union,^[28] which Fulehas warned Ukraine would be incompatible with the agreements with the EU.^[29] A ceremony on the initialling of the AA by the Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton was held at theEastern Partnership summit on 29 November 2013.^[30][31] It was formally signed on 27 June 2014,^[32] and had to be ratified by the EU,Euratom, their member states and Georgia. A second agreement, governing the country's involvement in EU crisis management operations, was also signed.^[33]

The Association Agreement, much of which provisionally came into force in September, has been fully ratified by Georgia and all EU member states.^[34] On 18 December 2014 theEuropean Parliament approved the Association Agreement. Members backed the treaty by 490 votes in favour to 76 against, with 57 abstentions.^[35] The agreement entered into force on 1 July 2016.^[34]

Ratification history

Signatory	Date	Institution			AB	Deposited[34]	Reference
Austria	8 July 2015	National Council	Approved			28 August 2015	[36]
	23 July 2015	Federal Council	Approved				[36]
		Presidential Assent	Granted
Belgium
	23 April 2015	Chamber of Representatives	101	17	20	1 February 2016	[37][38]
		Royal Assent (federal law)
	1 July 2015	Walloon Parliament (regional) (community)	63	2	4		[39]
			61	2	4		[39]
	22 June 2015	German-speaking Community	16	2	1		[40]
	24 June 2015	French Community	71	0	8		[41]
	20 November 2015	Brussels Regional Parliament	69	3	3		[42][43]
	20 November 2015	Brussels United Assembly[44] (FR language) (NL language)	53	3	1		[45][46]
			14	0	2		[45][46]
	17 June 2015	Flemish Parliament (regional) (community)	82	18			[47]
			87	19			[47]
	24 June 2015	COCOF Assembly	71	0	8		[48][49]
Bulgaria	24 July 2014	National Assembly	91	0	0	9 September 2014	[50]
	28 July 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[51]
Croatia	12 December 2014	Parliament	116	0	1	24 March 2015	[52]
	18 December 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[53]
Cyprus	7 May 2015	House of Representatives	Approved			18 August 2015	[54]
	22 May 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[55]
Czech Republic	18 March 2015	Senate	56	0	6	12 June 2015	[56]
	29 April 2015	Chamber of Deputies	116	1	51		[56][57]
	19 May 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[58]
Denmark	18 December 2014	Parliament	101	7	0	18 February 2015	[59]
Estonia	4 November 2014	Assembly	66	0	0	12 January 2015	[60][61]
	13 November 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[60]
European Union andEAEC	18 December 2014	European Parliament	490	76	57	19 April 2016 (EAEC) 23 May 2016 (EU)	[35]
		Council of the European Union
Finland	10 March 2015	Parliament	Approved			6 May 2015	[62]
	24 April 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[63]
France	29 October 2015	Senate	Approved			15 December 2015	[64]
	25 June 2015	National Assembly	Approved				[64]
	9 November 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[64]
Germany	8 May 2015	Bundesrat	Approved			22 July 2015	[65]
	26 March 2015	Bundestag	Approved				[66]
	27 May 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[67]
Georgia	18 July 2014	Parliament	123	0	0	25 July 2014	[68]
		Presidential Assent	Granted
Greece	18 November 2015	Parliament	Approved			14 December 2015	[69]
	24 November 2015	Presidential Promulgation	Granted				[70]
Hungary	25 November 2014	National Assembly	127	6	0	7 April 2015	[71]
	5 December 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[71]
Ireland	27 January 2015	Dáil Éireann	58	19	0	17 April 2015	[72]
Italy	26 November 2015	Senate	202	37	10	3 February 2016	[73]
	29 July 2015	Chamber of Deputies	310	93	34		[73]
	7 December 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[74]
Latvia	14 July 2014	Parliament	81	0	0	2 October 2014	[75]
	18 July 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[76]
Lithuania	8 July 2014	Parliament	84	0	1	29 July 2014	[77]
	11 July 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[78]
Luxembourg	18 March 2015	Chamber of Deputies	55	2	0	12 May 2015	[79]
	12 April 2015	Grand Ducal Promulgation	Granted				[80]
Malta	21 August 2014	House of Representatives	Approved			29 August 2014	[81][82][83]
Netherlands	7 July 2015	Senate	Adopted			21 September 2015	[84]
	7 April 2015	House of Representatives	119	31	0		[85]
	28 July 2015	Royal Promulgation	Granted				[84]
Poland	5 March 2015	Senate	75	0	0	22 May 2015	[86]
	6 February 2015	Sejm	439	0	1		[87][88]
	26 March 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[89]
Portugal	2 April 2015	National Assembly	Approved			8 October 2015	[90]
	19 May 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[91]
Romania	2 July 2014	Chamber of Deputies	298	0	0	14 July 2014	[92]
	3 July 2014	Senate	111	0	2		[93]
	9 July 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[94]
Slovakia	23 September 2014	National Council	117	0	1	21 October 2014	[95]
	16 October 2014	Presidential Assent	Granted				[96]
Slovenia	13 May 2015	National Assembly	69	3	0	27 July 2015	[97][98]
	21 May 2015	Presidential Assent	Granted				[99]
Spain	27 May 2015	Senate	Approved			28 July 2015	[100]
	30 April 2015	Congress of Deputies	303	0	1		[101]
		Royal Assent	Granted
Sweden	26 November 2014	Parliament	249	44	0	9 January 2015	[102]
United Kingdom	23 February 2015	House of Commons	Approved			8 April 2015	[103]
	9 March 2015	House of Lords	Approved				[104]
	19 March 2015	Royal Assent	Granted				[105]

The ratification was based on The European Union (Definition of Treaties) (Association Agreement) (Georgia) Order 2015, made in accordance with section 1(3) of the European Communities Act 1972, after having been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

The agreement applied to the United Kingdom as an EU-member state untilBrexit on 31 January 2020. During thetransition period that followed Brexit, until 31 December 2020, the agreement still applied to the UK.

The agreement established aDeep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between the EU and Georgia, including "the removal of import duties for most goods traded between the EU and Georgia" and "broad mutual access to trade in services for both partners".^[106]

Leading up to May 2025, although Georgia's constitution still mandated EU accession efforts, theGeorgian Dream government led byBidzina Ivanishvili increasingly distanced itself from Western alignment. A key development occurred in April 2024 when the country'sState Security Service released an Annual Report accusing Western nations of attempting to destabilize the government throughhybrid warfare, civil unrest, and ideological influence. The report, which echoedRussian narratives, claimed foreign powers were behind conspiracies to undermine Georgia's sovereignty, including allegations ofU.S. andUkrainian involvement in coup plots and assassination attempts against Georgian Dream leaders. This rhetoric marked a departure from Georgia's previous pro-Western stance, with the government framing domestic dissent and foreign influence as coordinated efforts against the nation's interests.^[107]

A March 2023 survey conducted by the International Republican Institute found that 85% of Georgians (70% 'fully', 15% 'somewhat') were in favour of EU membership, up from 75% before the start of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[108] In April 2023, a nationwide poll by the International Republican Institute found that 89 percent of Georgians support joining the EU, the highest number recorded for years.^[109]

Georgia has not yet started the negotiation process.

Since 28 March 2017, Georgian citizens have been able to travel visa-free to the Schengen area. Starting in 2025, like all nationals from visa-exempt countries, Georgians will also need to comply with the EU'sETIAS system before entering any of the EU/Schengen member countries.^[114]

Member countries	Population[115]	Area (km2)	GDP (US$)[116]	GDP per capita (US$)	Languages
Georgia	3,688,647	69,700	30 billion	8,164	Georgian
EU27	447,007,596	4,233,262	17,046 billion	38,134	24
EU27+1	450,731,931 (+0.83%)	4,302,962 (+1.65%)	17,076 billion (+0.18%)	37,885 (−0.65%)	25 (+1)

• Armenia: On 7 February 2024, prime minister of ArmeniaNikol Pashinyan congratulated neighboring Georgia for obtaining EU candidate status. During an address to the National Assembly, Pashinyan stated, "Many significant realities have changed in our region, and one of those realities is the fact that Georgia has received the status of a candidate for EU membership, which has an objective impact on our region. It turns out that two of our neighboring countries have the status of a candidate for EU membership, and if before it was possible to say, where is the EU, where is our region, now the EU is actually our region, and we are aware of this fact."^[117]

• Georgia-European Union relations
• Georgia–European Union Association Agreement
• Association Trio
• Enlargement of the European Union
• Future enlargement of the European Union
• Accession of Armenia to the European Union
• Accession of Moldova to the European Union
• Accession of Ukraine to the European Union
• Georgia–NATO relations

• europa.eu foreign relations Georgia-EU

• Accession to the European Union by country
• Foreign relations of Georgia (country)
• Georgia (country)–European Union relations

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