Georgia drifts away from the West as EU and NATO centres close

The Georgian government’s decision to close its NATO and EU Information Centre in Tbilisi has reignited fears of democratic backsliding and a strategic pivot away from the West, despite the country’s formal EU candidate status. The move comes amid growing tensions with Brussels and Washington over controversial laws and a broader erosion of liberal democratic norms.

The Centre, established in 2005 and prominently located on Freedom Square, served as a hub for informing citizens about Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. It flew the flags of Georgia, the EU, and NATO, symbolising the nation’s longstanding ambitions to integrate with Western institutions.

According to Georgian media, the Centre will now be absorbed into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of an internal restructuring process. Several staff members have reportedly been informed of upcoming dismissals, although the ministry has not publicly confirmed this.

Tamara Tsuleiskiri, director of the Centre, issued a statement attempting to defuse public concern: “The structural reform will integrate the functions of the NATO and EU Information Centre directly into the ministry’s central apparatus. Raising awareness of Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration is now an inseparable part of the Ministry’s core mission,” she said, adding that “the reorganisation is being conducted transparently and every employee has been informed of the changes”.

Still, critics interpret the closure as part of a broader campaign by the ruling Georgian Dream party to sideline pro-Western institutions and voices. The decision follows months of rising tension between the Georgian government and its Western partners, culminating in a freeze of EU accession talks.

A pivot away from the West?

Once a frontrunner among Eastern Partnership countries, Georgia’s democratic credentials have been called into question. In 2024, the Georgian Dream party unilaterally suspended EU membership negotiations until 2028. That announcement was accompanied by increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Brussels and a series of legislative moves that drew comparisons to Russian-style governance.

Among the most controversial measures are the so-called “foreign agents” law and a broadcasting law, both adopted without public consultation. In a joint statement on 2 April EU high representative Kaja Kallas and commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement Marta Kos warned: “These laws risk stigmatising civic activists, threaten independent media, roll back human rights, and erode democratic decision-making. Such actions are incompatible with EU values and will negatively impact Georgia’s accession process.”

The European Commission subsequently froze financial assistance to Tbilisi and has yet to resume formal talks. Meanwhile, the United States imposed sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire former prime minister widely seen as the country’s de facto leader, accusing him of “dismantling Georgian democracy in Russia’s interest”.

Strategic ambiguity and mixed messaging

Although Georgian Dream officials insist that they still support EU and NATO membership “in principle”, the government has simultaneously cultivated closer ties with Moscow. Since 2023, pro-government narratives have described NATO and the EU as being controlled by a shadowy “global war party”, allegedly intent on dragging Georgia into conflict with Russia.

Political observers note that this rhetorical shift, along with efforts to limit the independence of civil society, echoes authoritarian trends seen in Hungary and Serbia.

The NATO and EU Information Centre’s closure, while presented as a bureaucratic consolidation, thus carries symbolic weight. For nearly two decades, the Centre stood as a beacon of Georgia’s Western path that now appears increasingly uncertain.

Recent developments appear to confirm the government’s hardening stance. On 30 May opposition leader Nika Melia, head of the Akhalis party and a prominent critic of the ruling Georgian Dream, was detained by police in what his lawyer described as a politically motivated act of intimidation. Melia, who faces trial for refusing to testify before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged abuses under former president Mikheil Saakashvili, was reportedly arrested without explanation, prompting accusations of unlawful detention.

The Interior Ministry later stated he was charged with insulting a law enforcement officer and would face an administrative court. Melia has previously spent time in prison under charges condemned by rights groups as politically driven. His arrest follows a similar ruling a week earlier, when another opposition figure, Zurab Japaridze, was placed in pre-trial detention for also refusing to cooperate with the same commission – which the opposition views as illegitimate and aimed at silencing dissent.

Popular support vs. political reality

Despite the political realignment, public support for EU membership remains high. According to recent polling by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), over 80% of Georgians favour joining the EU, with similarly strong support for NATO.

In their April statement, EU officials urged the Georgian government to reverse course: “We call on the authorities to demonstrate a genuine and irreversible commitment to returning to the EU path. This requires suspending repressive laws, ending violence against citizens, and engaging in meaningful dialogue with civil society”.

Whether those calls will be heeded remains unclear. For now, the closure of the NATO and EU Information Centre is seen by many as not just a bureaucratic shift, but a potent symbol of a country at a geopolitical crossroads, torn between its declared Euro-Atlantic aspirations and its growing illiberal drift.

Sources: BGNES, Reuters

Caption: A supporter of the Georgian opposition waves the EU and US flags during a protest near the Georgian Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, 29 December 2024.