Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze dismissed European criticism of Georgia’s democratic record, invited EU Commission representatives to a “debate,” and claimed Georgia was still committed to the EU accession as he was repeatedly pressed by a journalist during an interview at Euronews’ EU Enlargement Summit in Brussels on November 3.
During a nearly 40-minutes interview with Euronews’ Brussels correspondent Maria Tadeo, Kobakhidze also said Georgia still wants to join the EU “with dignity,” defended Georgian Dream’s lawsuit to ban five opposition parties, and reiterated Tbilisi’s readiness to “talk” with Brussels.
The summit, an informal event organized by the broadcaster a day before the European Commission is set to publish its annual Enlargement Reports, including on Georgia, brought together policymakers from the EU and candidate countries. Other participants included European Council President António Costa, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.
Kobakhidze appeared at the summit amid a broader exclusion of Georgia, which EU has described as a candidate country “in name only” amid democratic backsliding concerns, from major formal and informal enlargement-related events organized by the EU institutions.
Below are key highlights from the interview that took place as part of the summit’s Enlargement Talks segment.
‘Let’s Have a Debate’
Throughout the interview, Kobakhidze repeatedly challenged the credibility of European assessments of Georgia, including the 2025 enlargement report, reiterating Tbilisi’s calls for a dialogue with Brussels.
“We are completely confident that everything that is in this report is not in line with reality. We are fully confident in that. But let’s have a debate. Let’s have a public debate on this together with European Commission representatives,” he said.
He argued that, according to what he described as expert assessments published by the European Commission, Georgia was among the most democratic countries among EU candidate countries, with protected human rights and rule of law, as well as one of the fastest-growing economies in the region.
EU Using Candidate Status ‘to Blackmail Georgia’
He also accused the European Commission of using Georgia’s EU candidate status and accession process to exert political pressure on the country. “We understood that the European Commission was using the candidate status issue at the first stage and then the accession talks issue at the second stage to blackmail Georgia, to blackmail Georgian society, which was not fair,” he said.
Asked about the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence (2024 foreign agents law) and calls from European institutions to repeal it, Kobakhidze defended the legislation, describing it as a measure intended to ensure transparency of foreign financing. He also rejected the Venice Commission’s criticism of the foreign influence legislation as “political.”
“The Venice Commission’s report is entirely political. It has nothing to do with law, legal standards, or legal principles,” he said, insisting that the law was fully consistent with legal and European standards.
‘We Are Optimistic They Will Change’
Asked by the journalist why Georgia still wants to join the EU if Tbilisi considers Venice Commission [Council of Europe body], EU Council, European Commission, and leaders of the 27 member states as “European bureaucrats,” Kobakhidze said: “Because we are optimistic that they will change.”
‘We Want to Join With Dignity’
Pressed by the journalist about his November 28, 2024 announcement on delaying EU accession talks, Kobakhidze insisted that Georgia remained committed to EU membership but argued that the country should not be expected to compromise its sovereignty or accept what he described as an unequal relationship with European institutions.
“Again, we want to join with dignity. Georgia was part of the Soviet Union for around 70 years, and we remember those times,” he said, drawing a comparison between the Soviet-era relationship with Moscow and what he considers an inappropriate approach by Brussels towards Georgia. “That’s not an appropriate approach in a democratic society. We want to have a different approach in Europe. And, again, we are optimistic that this will change, that this approach will change,” he added.
‘They Should Talk to Us’
Kobakhidze repeatedly said the government was ready to discuss every issue with European representatives. “We are ready for everything. If somebody wants to change anything about Georgia’s behaviour, they should talk to us. But the problem now is that they don’t talk to us. They are not ready to talk to us,” he said.
When pressed on what concrete steps Georgia was prepared to take to restore the accession process, he said the sides should first discuss what needs to change on both sides. “The preconditions are sovereignty, dignity and democracy. The precondition is the rule of law, provided that they respect these principles,” he said.
‘They Just Make Political Comments’
Asked about the compatibility of Georgia’s opposition ban case with European democratic standards, Kobakhidze described the proceedings as a legal matter, saying the government had asked the Constitutional Court to examine the constitutionality of the parties. “We applied to the Constitutional Court to examine the constitutionality of certain political parties, five opposition parties, and this is a legal case,” he said.
He accused European officials of interfering in the independence of Georgia’s judiciary by commenting on the proceedings without providing what he considered legal arguments. “We are asking European bureaucrats to provide legal comments, but nobody provides legal comments. They just make political comments. That’s how they interfere with the independence of the Georgian judiciary, which is against European standards,” Kobakhidze said.
He maintained that Georgia’s judiciary was independent, rejecting concerns raised by the journalist about the implications of the case for political pluralism and democratic standards.
‘I Have Taken Pictures With All of Them’
During the interview, Maria Tadeo also told Kobakhidze that there are “heads of state who “do not want to be in picture with you,” to which Kobakhidze responded: “I have taken pictures with all of them.”
Also in Brussels: Pashinyan Again Backs Georgia’s EU Accession
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was also an invited speaker at the summit, said that Georgia’s EU accession is important for Armenia.
“We were inspired by the EU’s decision and Georgia’s determination to be a full member of the European country. So, I mean, for us, for Armenia, the success of Georgia is very important, even for the citizens’ perception of our European policy and our European prospects.”
The relations between Georgia, which became the EU candidate country in 2023, and Brussels worsened amid the Georgian Dream government’s anti-democratic moves and anti-EU discourse. The EU said in November 2025 that Georgia is a candidate country “in name only” and moved to suspend visa-free travel for Georgian holders of diplomatic and service passports.
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