[3] It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

[10] In June 2022, the European Commission established Georgia's eligibility to become a member of the EU, but deferred giving it official candidate status until after certain conditions were met.

[11] Later that month, the European Council expressed readiness to grant Georgia the status of a candidate after completing a set of reforms recommended by the commission.

[16] Following the Georgian government's approval of legislation which would require non-governmental organizations to register as foreign agents or "organizations carrying the interests of a foreign power" and disclose the sources of their income if the funds they receive from abroad amount to more than 20% of their total revenue, which led to widespread protests in the country, the European Council stated in June 2024 that this represented "backsliding on the steps set out in the Commission's recommendation for candidate status" and that the accession process would be de facto on hold until the government changes course.

[17] On 9 July 2024, the EU ambassador in Georgia announced that the European Union had suspended the country's accession process as a result of the legislation.

[18][19] The European Union threatened Georgia with sanctions and suspension of relations if the country becomes a "one-party state" without political opposition following parliamentary elections in October 2024.

[23] Kobakhidze's statement on suspending the EU accession negotiations triggered a new wave of protests, one of the biggest since Georgia's independence from the Soviet Union.

[105] A March 2023 survey conducted by the International Republican Institute found that 85% of Georgians (70% 'fully', 15% 'somewhat') were in favour of EU membership, up from 75% before the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[106] In April 2023, a nationwide poll by the International Republican Institute found that 89 percent of Georgians support joining the EU, the highest number recorded for years.