Eurosceptics against EU enlargement: The Case of Georgia

Abstract

In December 2023, the granting of the status of a candidate by the European Council to Georgia received a positive response from the political groups in the European Parliament, but it should be noted that despite the general optimism, there are also political groups in the European Parliament (Identity and Democracy, European Conservatives and Reformists) who are critical of the issue of EU enlargement. Without researching the Eurosceptic political groups within the European Union, it is impossible to analyze what factors harm Georgia in terms of expansion. The relevance of the mentioned issue is that Euroscepticism in Georgia and, accordingly, Eurosceptic political groups are only partially studied, which mainly leaves only those European parties on the political agenda that look positively at the expansion of the European Union towards Georgia. As it turned out, Eurosceptics cite such factors as the arguments against the expansion of the European Union towards Georgia, such as problems related to democracy in Georgia, the issue of territorial integrity, the absence of a common border with the European Union, the negative role of Russia, the skepticism in the European Union itself regarding the expansion in general, and others. The named factors are important not only because they show the attitude of Eurosceptics towards Georgia, but also because such groups within the European Parliament represent the 5^th and 6^th largest power, which indicates one thing- that shortly their rhetoric will not have a decisive influence on the foreign policy of the European Union.