In late June, the Georgian authorities once again faced criticism from Europeans. In addition to further resolutions and memorandums criticizing the policies of Georgian Dream, Brussels has launched a procedure to review the visa-free regime for Georgia. All this against the backdrop of Ukraine and Moldova already starting negotiations on joining the EU. "We are ready to review relations with the EU, but we will not trade sovereignty for strawberries," Georgian Dream members responded with a meme. Meanwhile, new polls show that Georgians still really want to join the EU, although skepticism towards European integration among Georgian residents has noticeably increased for the first time in recent years. Iya Barateli investigated the situation. Supporters of the Georgian opposition wave the national flag (left) and the European Union flag, participating in a protest action in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on December 12, 2019. Photo: Zurab Kurtsikidze / EPA. Resolution minus Orban. On July 1, head Ursula von der Leyen will pay an official visit to Yerevan. This will be the second visit, as the first took place very recently - in early May, the head of the European Commission was in Armenia for the summit of the European Political Community and the first EU-Armenia summit. As for Georgia, which has been considered an "excellent student" of European integration for years, it is now facing only reproaches, accusations, ultimatums, and a declared refusal of high-level contacts. Why is this happening? "Georgia is a country where the rollback of democracy has been the fastest in the history of EU candidate countries." This thought became the main one during the presentation of the annual report on Georgia, based on which the European Parliament in Strasbourg adopted a tough resolution on June 17. Its main demands are: firstly, to freeze the assets of the founder of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili (a French citizen), and his family members in the EU. It is known that the billionaire's family owns multi-million dollar real estate and assets in France. Therefore, the European Parliament demands that the EU act like Washington and London, which have already imposed sanctions against Ivanishvili. Members of the European Parliament vote during a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on June 17, 2026. Photo: Olivier Matthys / EPA. The European Parliament also proposes to impose sanctions on judges, prosecutors, and high-ranking officials of Georgian Dream and to take measures against private pro-government TV channels, and for the first time, against Public Television, for "systematic disinformation against the EU." Here, the example of Great Britain, which already imposed similar sanctions against Imedi and PosTV channels in February, also proved useful. Also, for the first time among the demands are sanctions against the management of the Communications Regulation Commission. This is not the first resolution with a demand to impose sanctions against Ivanishvili, but until now, such initiatives have been blocked by Georgian Dream's ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, so until now, sanctions against Georgian officials have been adopted by European countries at the national level. Now, analysts are confident, nothing prevents the European Commission from imposing sanctions on a pan-European scale. Something else offensive to the authorities: the resolution mentions the Georgian Dream government in conjunction with the term "de facto." This means that the European Parliament has not recognized the results of the 2024 Georgian parliamentary elections. Questioning the legitimacy of the authorities, the European Parliament calls on EU member states to build relations with the Georgian government based on concrete steps to improve democracy. In particular, Tbilisi is expected to repeal the package of controversial laws on "foreign agents," broadcasting, public service, restrictions on rallies, and anti-LGBTQ+ rights. In the resolution, the European Parliament also calls for the release of participants in pro-European protests who are behind bars, whom it openly calls "political prisoners." The rapporteur of the European Parliament on Georgia, Lithuanian MP Rasa Juknevičienė, under whose leadership the resolution was prepared, also spoke about the fact that Georgia is no longer a leader not only in the "European trio" with Ukraine and Moldova, but even in the South Caucasus region: "Georgia is no longer the only and most important one. I think Armenia is now becoming a leader in the region in terms of democracy. They are already taking the EU flag away from Georgia, unfortunately for Georgians." By the way, about the region: in this resolution, the European Parliament accused Tbilisi for the first time of turning away from European integration towards Russia, China, and Iran. A week after the scolding in the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) took up the criticism of Georgian democracy in Strasbourg. Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Michael O'Flaherty, Thessaloniki, Greece, June 28, 2024. Photo: Nikos Arvanitidis / EPA. On June 24, the Assembly adopted a resolution "On the functioning of democratic institutions in Georgia," which states that the destruction of democracy in Georgia continues "without any signs of slowing down" amid "repression against civil society, political opposition, and dissent." The report compiled by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O'Flaherty, also states that the Georgian government is severely violating basic human freedoms. He has personally visited Georgia several times and met with law enforcement officials. In a memorandum published on June 20, O'Flaherty noted that although the authorities have for the first time prosecuted several law enforcement officers accused of using disproportionate force against protesters in 2024-2025, investigations are still progressing too slowly and have not yet yielded tangible results. Among other things, the Commissioner also demanded an independent and transparent investigation into reports of the use of chemical substances during the dispersal of anti-government protests and the publication of its results. Against this backdrop, in mid-June, negotiations between Georgia and the European Commission on "visa dialogue issues" were held in Brussels in a closed format. Protest against the results of parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia, November 24, 2024. Photo: David Mdzinarishvili / EPA. End of Georgian visa-free travel? In Brussels, this meeting was considered a "final warning." The issue is that Georgian citizens may lose the privilege of traveling to Schengen countries without a visa, which they have enjoyed for eight years thanks to the Association Agreement with the EU. According to a source from the Georgian service of Radio Liberty, an EU official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Georgian delegation at the negotiations spoke about how "foreign-funded agents are trying to change the regime and organize violent protests." However, Brussels considers all these arguments "propaganda" that is not worth wasting time on. In December, the European Commission will present its annual visa report, and in January 2027, EU countries plan to put the issue of full suspension of the visa-free regime for Georgian citizens to a vote, and under the new rules, the consent of all 27 states is no longer required to make a decision - a qualified majority of votes is sufficient. Since March, the European Commission's decision to suspend the visa-free regime for holders of diplomatic and service passports of Georgia for one year has already been in effect. This winter, the European Commission will decide whether to extend the suspension of the visa-free regime for Georgian officials for another year, or to extend these sanctions to all citizens of the country. By the way, the European Parliament, in its resolution, calls for maintaining the visa-free regime for journalists, students, and several other categories of citizens, should Brussels decide to suspend the visa-free regime for Georgia. Former Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has already appealed to the heads of MFA of EU countries: "Such a result does not serve the interests of the citizens of Georgia; it serves both the ruling regime, which seeks to strengthen its power by severing Georgia's ties with the democratic West, and Georgia's opponents, who are strategically interested in alienating the country from its European partners." As for Georgian Dream's vision of the prospect of leaving the country without free access to Europe, the best comment was made by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili. When asked by a journalist: "What are your expectations?" Papuashvili decided to use a "viral" quote from Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who, after Armenia's agricultural products were banned from being exported to Russia, said: "We will not give up our independence in exchange for strawberries." Discussing how Brussels allegedly demands that Georgia join sanctions against Russia and allow foreigners "non-transparent spending of funds to finance the political agenda in Georgia" in exchange for a visa-free regime, Papuashvili stated: "We responded that this is impossible out of respect for our sovereignty... So, as they say, we will not trade sovereignty for strawberries." Founder of the Georgian Dream party and oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, Tbilisi, Georgia, October 26, 2024. Photo: David Mdzinarishvili / EPA. Georgian Eurosceptics. Against the backdrop of the fact that most pro-Western non-governmental organizations and foundations in Georgia have ceased to function, the level of awareness of Georgian residents about the EU's activities has decreased by 14 percentage points to 40% over the year. Another 86% express concern about disinformation, calling it a threat to national security. This is the conclusion of an annual study conducted by the EU in Eastern Partnership countries. While pro-European sentiments in Georgia remain high, skepticism has also increased recently. 71% of citizens support Georgia's accession to the EU. 11% spoke against it, and another 17% took a neutral position. 40% of respondents expressed a positive attitude towards the European Union, and 8% expressed a negative attitude. Last year, 2025, positive assessments reached 43%, and a year earlier, in 2024, they were as high as 60%. The EU also retains its status as the most reliable external actor in Georgia: the level of trust in it reaches 67%. However, even here, the share of those who do not trust has increased to 26% from 11% in 2024. 87% of respondents believe that the country should more actively advance along the European path. 56% of respondents agreed that the laws adopted by the authorities on civil society and the media (the very ones Brussels proposes to withdraw) negatively affect the Euro-integration process. 79% of respondents said that joining the EU would bring Georgia more benefits than drawbacks. At the same time, 51% of respondents believe that the European Union has "hidden interests," and 43% believe that it imposes its values.