HOW CAN THE EU REGAIN LEVERAGE OVER GEORGIA? - By Sergi Kapanadze

The governing Georgian Dream For the last few years, the reforms intro- party spent the last two years arguing that the duced by the Georgian Dream government have EU was trying to drag Georgia into the war with been only just sufficient to avoid a failing mark Russia by pushing unjustified “reforms” like from the EU. [...] that the Georgian Dream party had not fulfilled Furthermore, the opposition, civil society, and the key recommendations on the independence the President have been accused of attempting of the judiciary, de-oligarchization, and de-pola- to undermine the country’s European path des- rization. [...] mentioned the possibility of reintroducing the EU‘s decision on the candidate status apprecia- “foreign agents” bill and the “blasphemy bill.” ted the European resolve of the Georgian people Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the Georgian and also considered the geopolitical status quo. [...] To prevent and clear at the level of the EU ambassador, a delay of this kind, the EU must “reinvent” its MEPs, and the Commission about the possibi- leverage over the Georgian Dream. [...] would be unfair to the pro-European-minded population and the political opposition, just like Similarly, the EU has requested the Georgian not acknowledging the fulfilled reforms would be Dream government to fight disinformation and unjust to the Georgian Dream.