Is anyone in the European Union considering the security risks of having Georgia as a member of the European Union? It seems that there is uncritical high expectations of Georgia joining the European Union, when this should not be the case.
Georgia is not Ukraine and although its capital is currently engulfed by pro-EU and pro-democracy protests, it has elected a Kremlin-friendly party in office since 2012, the Georgian Dream Party, despite Russia illegally occupying two regions of Georgia and effectively as much as 20% of its population. The Kremlin has captured various political and economic institutions and sectors in Georgia through local oligarchs, and the country also has a free-visa regime with Russia. You can read a concise article about Russia’s interests in Georgia here.
Russia still occupies the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossettia and any prospective EU membership would require this dispute to be resolved either by Russia giving back these territories or Georgia accepting their loss. A country can’t join the EU while it has pending bordering disputes or ongoing conflicts. The resolution of this conflict may not be a good sign for the EU either, given that only a Kremlin-friendly party in Georgia would come to accept the loss of its territories. Victory in Ukraine may change this dynamic by weakening Russia militarily and empowering Georgia to consider new options.
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