Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told Euronews, in an exclusive interview, that Brussels needs to be more flexible in EU membership talks.

“In his first interview after the South Caucasus country hit pause on its EU accession talks, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told Euronews that the ball was in Brussels’ court, and that the bloc needed to be more flexible in its approach to new members.

Kobakhidze said Georgia was facing „some significant challenges with the European bureaucracy” but emphasised that he was still “very optimistic” that his country would obtain EU membership by 2030.

“[We] will be consistent in following this goal and then hopeful that the approach to Georgia will be more fair in the next coming years”, he told Euronews.

In November, Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would pause discussions on its bid to join the EU until 2028 due to what the prime minister described then as “blackmail and manipulation” from some of the bloc’s politicians.

The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, but halted its membership application process indefinitely and cut financial support last June after the passage of a “foreign influence” law that the bloc considers to be Russian-inspired and authoritarian.

Kobakhidze told Euronews that Tbilisi’s policies were not to blame for the fact that there are currently not “healthy relations” between Georgia and the EU.

“It’s because of the European bureaucracy and the policies towards Georgia”, he said. “So, if that policy changes, everything will be in a better shape”, - writes Euronews.