Between Hesitation and Commitment: The EU and Georgia after the 2008 War

By Lili Di Puppo

Published in November 2010.

Executive Summary 

EU-Georgia relations have evolved over different stages starting from the building of the first ties in the early 1990s to a gradual increase in the EU‟s security engagement that culminated in its role in brokering a cease-fire during the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008. The EU‟s engagement in Georgia is driven by a number of interests that include energy security and the fight against new security threats such as organized crime, especially the trafficking of drugs and humans, and terrorism. Hence, the EU has an inherent interest in the stability and prosperity of the Caucasus region to avoid instability there, whether in the form of re-ignition of unresolved conflicts or non-traditional security threats. On the other side, Georgia‟s European aspirations have been strong since the country‟s independence, with the Rose Revolution of November 2003 providing an important stimulus for accelerating the process of European integration. However, in spite of the high hopes raised by the revolution, a real convergence between Georgia and the EU failed to materialize following the Rose Revolution. Indeed, leading Georgian officials did not deem the process of European integration as providing a promising path for Georgia to exit the post-Soviet status quo. 

Image generated by OpenAI’s DALL-E.

Hence, expectations on both sides diverged on two main aspects: security and timing. Georgia expected from the EU a stronger engagement in security issues, in particular in the area of conflict resolution, while the EU‟s neighborhood policies that are set in a long-term perspective of gradual convergence to the EU‟s standards did not answer Georgia‟s search for rapid solutions to exit from a problematic post-Soviet status quo. After the revolution, Georgia was desperate to achieve quick results by engaging in a rapid modernization strategy through a dramatic overhaul of state institutions in order to irrevocably change its image as a failed and corrupt state and it was also eager to gain security guarantees to support its pro-Western course. Yet the EU‟s engagement in Georgia was characterized by a low profile in political and security matters with the EU preferring to concentrate its assistance on long-term institutional reforms. As a result, the focus on NATO membership and the strategic relationship with the United States gradually took precedence over a Europeanization agenda in Tbilisi‟s foreign policy priorities. Furthermore, Georgia sought to transform itself into an attractive investment destination and boost its profile as an economic reformer by adopting libertarian-leaning policies that often failed to conform to the EU‟s regulatory model. 

Since the August 2008 war, the EU significantly upgraded its engagement through the deployment of a monitoring mission and the launch of the Eastern Partnership initiative in March 2009. On the other side, the war has rendered Georgia more vulnerable and prompted it to view its relations with the EU in a more pragmatic light by acknowledging the Union‟s enhanced security role and accommodating its policies with the EU‟s demands. Further, the prospect of NATO membership became increasingly uncertain, while the strategic relationship with the United States lost momentum with the coming to power of the new administration under President Barack Obama. While a window of opportunity for a renewed rapprochement has opened for the EU and Georgia, it is still unclear how far both actors will be prepared to go to ensure more convergence between their visions. The EU‟s policies in the region are still characterized by a certain ambiguity, as it remains unclear how much political weight the Union is ready to put behind its new instruments. Georgia has difficulties engaging on a path of reforms without having a clear view of the rewards on offer. As a result, the post-war context still offers an unclear picture with the rapprochement between the EU and Georgia proceeding in slow motion. 

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