Attitudes Towards Georgia’s EU Membership: Towards a Better Understanding of Popular Support and Opposition to EU Accession in Georgia

This paper explores the attitudes and support of Georgian people towards the county’s membership in the European Union (EU). Although integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures is stated in the Georgian constitution (Article 78), many worry about the country's ongoing change of course in foreign policy. In this context, this paper wants to study the level of support for the EU membership in Georgia (1); to examine how, if at all, the level of support for the EU membership has changed during recent years (2); to identify the reasons why people in Georgia support or oppose country’s membership in the EU (3); and to investigate demographic as well as other socio-economic and cultural predictors which potentially could have an impact on EU membership support in Georgia. By using quantitative as well as qualitative research methods, the study explores the subject matter from a quantitative as well as qualitative perspective. The quantitative findings are based on the Caucasus Barometer (CB) data, representative surveys of the adult population in Georgia conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) since 2008. The qualitative findings are based on in-depth interviews with experts in the field of international relations and EU studies, as well as on focus group discussions with ordinary citizens of different age groups who support or oppose Georgia’s membership in the EU. Preliminary findings show that since 2015 the share of those who support Georgia’s membership in the EU increased from 42% to 71% in 2024, underscoring a deep mismatch between popular attitudes and the recent foreign policy decision by the country’s contested Georgian Dream government to suspend EU accession. Against this background, the paper also inquires into the extent to which the EU can advance the integration process in a deeply divided candidate country.