EU Extends Cooperation with Georgia, but Expresses Caution on Accession Issue

At the opening of the June 16 donors conference, EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said Georgia deserved generous support "in order to encourage the recent success" of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's reform drive. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Prior to the gathering, Georgian officials said they hoped to receive up to 485 million euros ($582 million). The total amount of pledges – 850 million euros -- far exceeded that figure. The EU itself is allocating 125 million euros ($150 million).

"By pledging so much aid, they [donors] have made it clear that new relations are starting with Georgia," Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania told the gathering. "This aid is unique not only because of the sum involved, but also because the [aid] programs will be prepared in much closer cooperation with Georgian authorities. This almost never happened in the past."

EU officials have stressed that the aid will be conditioned on the continuation of Georgian reforms. Zhvania indicated that the Georgian government's determination to press ahead with economic and political changes – in particular a far-reaching anti-corruption initiative – was unwavering. "We want to become full-fledged members of the European Union," Zhvania said in comments broadcast by Imedi TV on June 16.

The New Neighborhood Initiative should help Georgia become more EU-compatible. The initiative, unveiled by EU enlargement Commissioner Gùnther Verheugen in May, offers a blueprint for the strengthening of economic and political ties between the EU and neighboring states in southern and eastern Europe. During the conceptual stage, EU officials did not envision the three South Caucasus as falling under the initiative, but that thinking changed following the dramatic turn of events in Georgia, touched off by the Rose Revolution in November. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The initiative awaits formal ratification during the EU summit in Brussels.

According to Heather Grabbe of the Centre for European Reform, a UK-based think tank, the rise of the Saakashvili administration to power in Tbilisi was seen as a "fantastic opportunity" to extend the New Neighborhood Initiative to the South Caucasus. Experts stress, however, that the EU move in no way indicates that Georgia has been put on a fast track towards membership. Georgia's reform effort still has a long way to go before the issue of EU accession can be seriously discussed.

The recent overtures cannot entirely conceal potential bumps on Georgia's road towards European integration. From the EU's perspective, concerns linger about some aspects of the new Georgian government's foreign policy. Memories of the spat between Georgia and the Council of Europe in May still linger in the minds of EU decision-makers. During the dispute, Saakashvili assailed Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer, calling him "a well-paid bureaucrat." [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Most Georgians proudly consider themselves Europeans by virtue of their history and culture, and the post-Soviet period has seen a revival of the notion of Georgia's inherent Western orientation. Such a mood is entrenched within the Saakashvili administration. The Georgian president himself has repeatedly spoken about his European identity, as well as his country's right to eventually join the European Union.

During a visit to Brussels in April, Saakashvili confidently stated - to the surprise of his host, EU Commission President Romano Prodi - that in the near-future Georgia would be ready for EU membership. Such assertive rhetoric is likely to raise eyebrows in an EU that is still uncomfortable with its newly enlarged self, and Georgia's enthusiastic push for full membership has been met with a decidedly less eager response. Indeed, Verheugen, when introducing his New Neighborhood Initiative, emphasized that "membership is not on our agenda for these countries." This view repeatedly confirmed by other EU officials, as well as by member states.

Ioseb Nanobashvili, counselor of the mission of Georgia to the EU, viewed Georgia's inclusion in the New Neighborhood Initiative as affirmation of his country's integration plan, and an important step towards full EU membership. Nanobashvili specifically pointed out that the New Neighborhood Initiative does not preclude full membership, and that the EU's draft constitution explicitly permits all European countries to apply. He expressed his hope that preparing for EU membership would have the same positive effect on Georgia's reform process as it had on Central European states. Ultimately, Georgia's accession would help the EU complete its mission of promoting European integration, Nanobashvili argued. "The founding fathers of Europe would have thought so as well," Nanobashvili added.