POLITICO: Georgia’s EU Ambitions Are Squandered by Ivanishvili’s State Capture

This week POLITICO reported on the visit by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, to Georgia and the ongoing challenges the European Commission is seeing in the ascension process. One of the key reasons cited by the publication has been the overwhelming oligarchic control and state capture exerted by billioniaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. The publication reports:

“The work undertaken by Georgia has been acknowledged, but additional efforts are required,” Borrell said in an article written for the Civil Georgia news site to coincide with the visit. “There’s little time left until these important decisions for Georgia’s future are made, this is why we strongly encourage the Georgian authorities to seize this opportunity.”

A year ago, the bloc backed candidate status for fellow hopefuls Ukraine and Moldova, while only acknowledging Georgia’s “European perspective” and handing down a list of 12 reforms, including “de-oligarchization,” tackling political polarization, strengthening institutions and building bridges with civil society. 

But the signs aren’t looking positive. Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch and former prime minister whose net worth is reportedly a third to half of the country’s GDP, “appears to be largely responsible” for a sudden political swing toward Moscow since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a report from the European Council on Foreign Relations.