Georgia’s bid to join the European Union has no new date for accession negotiations, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze defended disputed laws at the Euronews Enlargement Summit in Brussels on Nov. 3.
In an interview at the summit, Kobakhidze said Georgia would “immediately join” negotiations if the European Commission opened them. He blamed the Commission for the impasse and proposed a public debate with it. Euronews reported that he ruled out repealing the laws, but offered no timetable for talks.
The Georgian government said on Nov. 28, 2024, that it would not put opening accession negotiations on its agenda until the end of 2028 and would decline European Union budget grants during that period. The European Council later expressed regret over the decision and raised concerns about the government’s course. The European Commission’s 2025 report said the accession process had effectively come to a standstill and described Georgia as a candidate “in name only.”
The dispute centers on the 2024 Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence and the 2025 Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission recommended ending the special registration regime under the first law and repealing the second. An Oct. 21 European Union statement said Venice Commission opinions found that Georgia’s March 2026 amendments on foreign funding and political activity imposed disproportionate limits on fundamental freedoms.
Georgia applied for European Union membership on March 3, 2022, and received candidate status in December 2023. EconoTimes previously reported on Georgia’s stalled bid and public support for EU membership. Euronews reported no agreed process or date for Kobakhidze’s proposed public discussion or for opening accession negotiations.
