Thomas de Waal and Natalie Sabanadze discuss the stakes in Georgia’s forthcoming election and explore how the results could affect the country’s course toward EU membership.

Georgia is moving toward Europe while retreating from democracy. Following the European Commission’s recommendation to grant the country EU candidate status, with many conditions attached, European leaders will meet in December to confirm whether Georgia merits this new position.

Tbilisi is hoping to progress toward European integration while resisting genuine reform. In deliberating Georgia’s possible EU membership, Brussels faces an uncomfortable choice between geopolitical calculus and adherence to its own democratization criteria.

The Georgian government’s attempt to pass restrictive legislation on foreign influence provoked mass protests that ultimately led to the withdrawal of the bill. To anchor Georgia to Western values, the EU should support the country's transition to institutional democracy.