According to Vos, Georgia ranks second for gaining EU membership. Last year, Ukraine and Moldova were included as candidate countries. Since Georgia has not been granted status, Chancellor Scholz wants to prevent Russia from gaining more influence in the country. Vos: “Even Germany knows that Georgia cannot join yet, but also wants to prevent Georgia from seeking a rapprochement with Russia.”
No in between
There is no middle ground for relations between the EU and Georgia. Vos explains that the EU will have to do something about it without rushing into membership for which the Union is not ready. He fears that there are also major risks if Georgia’s accession continues to be postponed. Russia and China will likely try to gain more influence in the region. ‘Geopolitics is not a garden party.’ Vos wants to avoid the EU ever asking the question: “How did we ever allow this to happen?”
“Geopolitics is not a garden party”
A temporary solution
Accepting or declining your application aren’t both ideal, but Vos says there may be an in-between solution. “French President Emmanuel Macron recently floated the idea of establishing the European Political Community.” The EPG has now met twice to improve relations between all EU Member States and candidate countries. Through the EPG, Georgia and the EU can try to discuss common challenges. “This is possible without full EU membership for Georgia or other countries,” says Vos.
Besides Georgia, there are many other countries that would like to join the EU. Those countries have been standing in line for some time and don’t want to be bypassed. The EU is moving rapidly towards the accession of Ukraine. According to Vos, this opens Pandora’s box. “Then you can suddenly have 37 member states instead of 27, the European Union is not ready for that at the moment.”