Georgia Is Hedging Its Bets on the EU and Russia

The EU responded with a list of a dozen reforms Tbilisi needs to implement before it can receive candidate status. But it’s becoming increasingly unclear whether the current government, under the ruling Georgia Dream party, is genuinely interested in seeing Georgia join the bloc. Some argue that, to the contrary, the party is intent on putting Georgia fully in Russia’s orbit. A poll in November found 85 percent saying they “fully support” or “somewhat support” becoming part of the bloc. That’s why if the government, in fact, wants to keep Georgia out of the EU, it can’t make that known to the public.