According to the Treaty on the European Union (EU), any European country that respects the democratic values of the union and is committed to its advancement can apply for EU membership. The European Union evaluates the readiness of candidate states for membership on 3 main criteria. These criteria are called "Copenhagen criteria" because they were adopted by the EU in 1993 in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. These criteria include political, economic, and legal aspects.
Even though everything looks ideal on paper, this is only the tip of the iceberg. That is, Brussels does not consider only democracy and the rule of law, or the formation of a free, competitive economy in candidate countries. Ideological values, population, ethnic-religious composition, and mental characteristics of the candidate country are unofficial points that are also taken into consideration. In addition, demands and decisions regarding candidate countries for membership vary by the geopolitical situation. In short, the requirements for membership in the European Union are not based on monolithic, only democratic values, they can change due to the situation and geopolitical factors. There are numerous examples of these discriminatory, double standards among candidate countries.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, this approach revealed itself more clearly. The European Union accelerated the accession procedure of Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia due to geopolitical reasons. On June 23, 2022, the membership candidacy of Ukraine and Moldova, which are far behind the EU criteria, was registered, and Georgia, which has been taking serious steps towards European integration for many years, would not receive this status at that time, after the year and a half, - in December 2023, Georgia was granted this right. However, in terms of financial system stability and economic growth rate, Georgia was in a better position than either Moldova or Ukraine.
But what was the reason for this prejudice and discrimination against Georgia?
The root of the issue is Georgia's adoption of the law "On transparency of foreign influence", which is presented as a Russian project by the West. According to the already adopted law, NGOs, mass media, legal entities, and individuals who get more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources must register as foreign agents in Georgia.
The ruling Georgian Dream party accuses foreign-funded NGOs of coming to power through protests and riots and planning a new wave of revolution, rather than doing educational and charity work in Georgia. The law is considered an important step for the transparency of foreign financial sources in the civil society and NGO sector.
But thousands of NGOs funded by the West and abroad refer to this event as a blow to democracy. However, it is no secret that in Georgia, most NGOs and other organizations are funded by various financial institutions and funds in the West.
European institutions, the European Union, and the United States do not want to listen to the arguments and positions of Georgia's legally elected government regarding the adoption of the law. On the contrary, by rudely interfering in the country's internal affairs, they support the protesting crowd who oppose the law and are limited to a few thousand people, thus fueling the process.
As a clear example of blatant interference in Georgia's internal affairs, we can cite the participation of the foreign ministers of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Iceland in the mass protest rally in Tbilisi on May 15th, as well as the participation of members of the Lithuanian and German parliaments in a march towards the Georgian parliament.
Thus, the West is keeping Georgia under political, economic, and diplomatic pressure by violating all rules of diplomatic courtesy.
The West, which until yesterday declared their shared European values with Georgia, now suddenly accuses the official Tbilisi of endangering democracy after the government demonstrated an independent character.
Following this the threats of freezing negotiations regarding EU membership candidacy, restoring visa regimes against local citizens, and imposing sanctions against official figures involved in the adoption of the law.
All this once again shows that the terms of EU membership are used to manipulate and influence the other party.
However, in the face of this pressure, the political will demonstrated by the Georgian government and people and their adequate approach to the situation should be noted. Irakli Kobakhidze and the Georgian government headed by Irakli Garibashvili adopted the law despite all the artificial obstacles and the protests of several thousand NGOs funded by the West.
With this, the government and the people of Georgia showed a firm will that they made the decision regarding their internal affairs, and that they persisted in responding harshly to outside interference. The recent events in Georgia lead to the conclusion that the West can put pressure and sanctions on any country that does not comply with it.
The government and people of Georgia aim to protect the independence and sovereignty of the country by adopting the law "On transparency of foreign influence". This displeases Western circles. They prefer a compliant Georgia that serves as Europe's vassal. The attempts of the West and Europe to confuse Georgia, which does not comply with it, are obvious.
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