Georgia–EU Relations

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Kakha Kaladze. Image from the screengrab of TV channel Kavkasia’s footage.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian Dream’s Kaladze labels German deputy foreign minister ‘ordinary Kubilius in a dress’

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

Georgian Dream General Secretary Kakha Kaladze has called Germany’s deputy foreign minister an ‘ordinary Kubilius in a dress’ after she said that his party is ‘creating obstacles’ on the path to EU membership. ‘I don’t know who that lady is. She’s just an ordinary Kubilius in a dress,’ Kaladze remarked on Monday, in response to criticism from Anna Lührmann, Germany’s Minister of State for Europe and Climate. He was comparing her to former Lithuanian Prime Minister and current MEP Andrius Kubil

The European Parliament. Photo: Dato Parulava/OC Media.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

EU suspends over €120 million in aid to Georgia

by OC Media

•3 min read

The European Union delegation in Georgia has stated that the country will lose €121 million ($130 million) in EU funding ‘as a result of democratic backsliding’. On Tuesday, an EU representative explained that ‘annual allocations are not all spent in the same year, hence remaining funds from 2022 and 2023 directly benefiting the authorities will be lost’. According to a post on Facebook by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for EU Neighbourhood and Enlargement, the money was ‘w

Irakli Kobakhidze presenting Georgian Dream’s election programme. Photo: Georgian Dream/Facebook.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian Dream promises ‘pragmatic policy’ with Russia in election programme

by OC Media

•3 min read

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has presented Georgian Dream’s election programme, vowing to adopt a ‘pragmatic policy’ towards Russia and to create 200,000 jobs and increase average salaries by 2028. Kobakhidze presented his party’s four-year plan on Monday evening, less than three weeks ahead of 26 October’s parliamentary elections. In an hour-long speech, he said the programme included ‘about 20% of the activities that will be implemented in the next four years’ and ‘due to the lack o

A Georgian Dream election banner on Rustaveli Avenue showing a destroyed bridge over the River Irpin in Ukraine and a highway in Georgia. Photo: Robin Fabbro/OC Media

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian Dream’s Kaladze says EU Ambassador would be ‘kicked out’ of ‘developed country’

by OC Media

•2 min read

The ruling Georgian Dream party has accused EU Ambassador Paweł Herczyński of ‘interfering’ in Georgia’s internal affairs by criticising its use of images of war-torn Ukraine in its campaign ads. On Sunday, Tbilisi Mayor and Secretary general of the ruling party, Kakha Kaladze told journalists that in a ‘developed country’, the ambassador would be ‘immediately kicked in the ass out of the country’ for his criticism of the banners. On Friday, Herczyński criticised Georgian Dream’s use of i

Salome Zurabishvili attending her impeachement vote at the parliament on 18 October. Photo via Netgazeti.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian Dream launches new impeachment process against Zourabichvili

by OC Media

•2 min read

The ruling Georgian Dream party has announced they will begin new impeachment proceedings against President Salome Zourabichvili, citing her official visits abroad without the government’s permission. At a press briefing on Monday, the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, said the party would appeal to the constitutional court before the 26 October parliamentary elections. If the court rules against Zourabichvili, her impeachment would still require the approval of 100 of 150 MPs; Ge

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Western criticism intensifies as Russia continues to voice support for Georgian Dream

by Shota Kincha

•4 min read

As the Georgian parliamentary elections creep ever closer, Western criticism against the ruling Georgian Dream party has intensified. In response, Georgian Dream has reiterated its threats to ban opposition groups and its allegations that the US and the EU are planning a coup. Less than three weeks before the parliamentary elections in Georgia, the ruling party has accused the US Embassy of interfering in the election process. The allegations follow a series of critical posts on the US Embassy

Bidzina Ivanishvili. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian officials brace for further sanctions

by OC Media

•2 min read

The threat of further Western sanctions against Georgian officials over democratic backsliding in the country has led to reports of alarm within the ruling Georgian Dream party, weeks ahead of parliamentary elections. On Wednesday, TV channel Formula reported citing confidential sources that bank accounts abroad belonging to the children of Georgian Dream founder and billionaire, Bidzina Ivanishvili, had been limited. TV station Mtavari Arkhi also reported on Wednesday that Ivanishvili h