Georgia delays EU bid until 2028 amid post-election crisis

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Thursday that while Tbilisi remains committed to its goal of European Union membership, it will not pursue accession until 2028, accusing Brussels of "blackmail".

The announcement came hours after the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution rejecting the results of Georgia's October 26 parliamentary elections, alleging "significant irregularities".

The resolution called for new elections to be held within a year under international supervision and for sanctions to be imposed on top Georgian officials, including Kobakhidze.

Accusing the European Parliament and "some European politicians" of "blackmail," Kobakhidze said: "We have decided not to bring up the issue of joining the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028."

But he pledged to continue implementing the necessary reforms, asserting that "by 2028, Georgia will be more prepared than any other candidate country to open accession talks with Brussels and become a member state in 2030".

The former Soviet country officially gained EU candidate status in December 2023.

But Brussels has effectively frozen Georgia's accession process until Tbilisi takes concrete steps to address what it calls democratic backsliding.

Opposition lawmakers are boycotting the country's new parliament, alleging fraud in the October elections, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party held on to its majority.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with Georgian Dream -- has declared the ballot "unconstitutional" and is seeking to annul the election results through the Constitutional Court.

Following Kobakhidze's statement, street protests erupted outside the parliament building and the...