The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which includes strategies for the Eastern Partnership (EaP) and the Southern Neighbourhood, was created as an instrument to facilitate EU foreign policy and promote political, economic, and social reforms in the countries surrounding the European Union. The goals formulated in the ENP aim to strengthen the partnership between the EU and its adjacent countries and deepen their integration with one another in areas of economy, governance, connectivity, and society. The EaP created new ways of enabling closer cooperation through Association Agreements (AAs) that specified areas where reforms were necessary to further enhance the partnership. 

Since its launch in 2009 and multiple renewals up until the latest one in 2021, questions have been raised around the overall effectiveness and practicality of the strategy, as internal and external issues between the EU and the countries involved hinder significant progress in the aforementioned objectives. But there have been countries where substantial progress has been made over the past two decades. This article shall take a closer look at Georgia, the specific goals the EU has set out there, and how these objectives have been implemented in practice. In addition to the successful areas, it is  important to look at areas that have not improved due to obstacles stemming from both the partnership and external factors. 

Georgia: A success story of EU foreign policy?

If one looked at Georgia in 2008 it would be unthinkable to presume that this country might enter negotiations over closer cooperation. A serious military conflict with Russia, under-developed institutions, and democratic deficits painted the political landscape of Georgia. But since the implementation of the EaP in 2009, substantial efforts have been made in reforming the country in line with the criteria set out by the EU. In 2014, Georgia and the EU negotiated the Association Agreement that brought the partnership to a new level of economic and political integration. 

Inter alia, significant progress has been made in border management and cooperation in combating organised crime. The agreement on this issue was negotiated in 2018 as part of the AA commitment to strengthen cooperation between Georgia and Europol. Additionally, to the security cooperation, Georgia has become a reliable partner in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) by participating in joint civil and military missions and regularly holding strategic security dialogue meetings with the EU. Another development in security has been the liberalisation of visas, which enabled Georgians to travel to the Schengen area without a visa.

After the conflict between Ukraine and Russia started in 2014, progress in the EaP slowed down significantly due to economic and political turmoil. Georgia, however, was able to avoid major economic recessions and implemented expansionary fiscal policies. On the contrary, economic growth in Georgia has been steady and characterised by a rise in exports of goods and services to the EU but also the rest of the world. As part of the AA the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) was set up to eliminate most tariffs on goods between the EU and Georgia and implement new legislation, procedures, and standards in accordance with the EU to facilitate further trade. The EU is Georgia’s main trading partner and holds a 27% share of Georgia’s total trade in 2020.

Moreover, the EU provides Georgia with over €120 million annually to finance Georgia’s reform in the economy and its digital and environmental transition. It is also noteworthy to mention the launch of a European School in Tbilisi and the implementation of the Erasmus+ exchange programme. 

Shortcomings from both sides

Although Georgia represents a fairly successful story of the Eastern Partnership, it is not matching the EU’s ambitious strategy goals in several areas. Issues around delivering better governance, strengthening anti-corruption measures and improving connectivity have been progressing along slowly. Delays in implementing judicial reforms as well as corruption allegations around the presidential elections in 2018 show the limited effectiveness of the EU’s strategy in terms of establishing democratic standards. Out of all the legal acts listed in the AA, a third has been implemented to slowly align Georgia with European standards, which still leaves a lot of room for improvement.

But Georgia is not the only party that shows weaknesses in reforming certain areas. The EU, as ambitious as its laid-out plans for the EaP seem, has been negligent in formulating tailored goals to each partner country of the EaP. Georgia has been pushing for active differentiation within the EaPs framework based on individual partner countries together with Moldova and Ukraine. 

The main objective of the EaP became strengthening resilience across all aspects of cooperation and, albeit it is an essential factor, it is mainly addressed through EU funding in developing the country’s infrastructure. However, resilience in Georgia is not only needed to be able to withstand economic shocks but also external influences. Conflicts with Russia, an out-spoken opponent of the EaP, limit Georgia’s sovereignty which in turn disrupt building trusted institutions that promote democratic values in the contested regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetian. In light of recent developments between Ukraine and Russia these conflicts will still be present for the foreseeable future.

Furthermore, the EU’s position to offer „everything, except the institutions“ seems unchanged and might dampen Georgia’s ambitious plans to be more involved with the EU and its economic area and to pursue EU membership in the future. In addition to clearly defining boundaries of the partnership, the EU has to find other means to incentivise reforms besides monetary investments in modernising Georgia’s infrastructure. 

In summary, Georgia and the EU found common ground in many economic areas which strengthened the Georgian economy, thus building up resilience to economic shocks. But the institutional reforms are still not fully implemented, and the EU does not seem to have found an effective way to move integration with European standards further.

How much has been achieved and what is the way going forward?

The transformation that Georgia underwent ever since it deepened cooperation efforts through the Association Agreement in 2014 shows promise in a coordinated EU foreign policy. However, the EaP, especially in association with Georgia, is accompanied by many unresolved issues. The fact that the objectives set out by the new EaP strategy do not live up to the ambitions of Georgia to become part of the European Economic Area and apply for EU membership could cause tensions once Georgia advances with the implementation of the acquis communautaire. The EU needs to re-evaluate their approach in formulating individual country-tailored strategies to improve their effectiveness rather than creating broad goals that apply to every partner country in the same way. 

The lack of a concrete long-term vision and accession opportunity for Georgia on the EU’s side might stand in the way of achieving quantifiable targets. Existing geopolitical obstacles, such as Russia’s opposition to the EaP and the lack of a shared border, create difficulties in the implementation of set out goals and are amplified by the EU’s willingness to push the partnership only up to a certain degree. 

Lastly, while economic and security cooperation may have moved forward, the institutional reforms concerning the strengthening of democracy and rule of law, as well as battling corruption, have been lagging behind. While the EU currently might not have the tools to effectively address these deficits, it is Georgia’s duty to make further visible progress in these areas, if it is serious about its European ambitions, especially after Georgia’s president, Salome Surabischwili, announced plans to apply for EU membership in 2024.