Tbilisi responds after Georgia omitted from EU enlargement plans

Georgia is continuing to do its part, and the political situation will eventually be ripe for constructive dialogue on the country’s membership in the European Union, Levan Makhashvili, chairman of the Georgian Parliament’s European Integration Committee, said.

Makhashvili was commenting on a POLITICO report that Brussels is drawing up plans for the phased accession of Montenegro, Ukraine, Moldova and Albania to the EU. Georgia was not included on the list.

“Brussels bureaucrats have punished Georgia for trying to avoid being dragged into a war. This is just temporary political noise. Sooner or later, we will sit down at the table and discuss issues relating to EU membership,” Makhashvili said.

The POLITICO report comes as the European Union is reviewing how its enlargement process could be accelerated while ensuring that prospective members meet the bloc’s political and institutional requirements.

As part of the review, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos will propose changes to the bloc’s internal workings to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent new members from disrupting key policies or reneging on their commitments. The revisions could include emergency clauses and transition periods before certain membership rights are fully granted.

“The policy reviews show that the Union can accommodate a larger membership through targeted adaptations, largely within the existing Treaty framework,” the draft says, arguing that the EU’s fundamental laws do not need to be changed to address concerns about enlargement.

The EU requires unanimous support from its existing members for candidate countries to advance through the accession process. EU leaders will discuss how and how quickly new members can be admitted at a two-day summit in Brussels beginning October 15. The European Council is set to hold “a strategic discussion on enlargement and internal reforms,” according to a draft agenda, while the Commission will seek political support to accelerate the process.

Kos told POLITICO earlier this month that she hoped the proposed changes and talks with EU leaders would lead to an “autumn of enlargement” after years of slower progress.

Von der Leyen is due to travel to the Western Balkans this week for talks with leaders in Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo. She will skip Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, both of which are in the midst of national elections.

By Tamilla Hasanova