The European Commission's annual report on the situation in the countries hoping for membership is not kind to developments in Tbilisi, where the ruling party has cracked down hard on the opposition over the past year.
The situation has deteriorated sharply. The Commission considers Georgia to be a candidate country only on paper, says Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos in a briefing to the EU Parliament on Tuesday's report, according to the news site Politico Europe.
For Montenegro, things look brighter. The country is stated to be "on track" to reach its goal of fully concluding its membership negotiations already in 2026. For Albania, the same applies for 2027.
Ukraine and Moldova are in turn aiming for 2028, but have not yet received the go-ahead to begin negotiations in earnest.
Both for that and to then become a member, the go-ahead from all current EU countries is required.
