Academician Mikheil Jibuti’s report: “Political and economic challenges of Georgia’s European perspective and ways to overcome them”

• October 31, 2022

Academician Mikheil Jibuti’s report: “Political and economic challenges of Georgia’s  European perspective and ways to overcome them” was presented at the extended session held in the Georgian National Academy of Sciences. The report showed the importance of the political and economic context in the implementation of the strategic goal of full integration in the Euro-Atlantic space (Constitution of Georgia, Article 78) constitutionally defined by the state of Georgia. On February 24, 2022, the war launched by Russia to conquer Ukraine caused an acceleration of this process. Georgia has received a European perspective and 12 recommendations from the European Union, the implementation of which will allow it to obtain the title of candidate for EU membership. This status finally excludes the negative use of the arguments of the “non-Europeanness” of the geographical location on the path of “Europeanization”. This will accelerate the organizational and intellectual activity of the members to develop a strategy (which Georgia does not yet have), with a written action plan and timetable, established supporting and constraining factors. It is important to know these factors. To this end, the report highlights and describes the reasons preventing the transformation of the Georgian economy into a competitive, efficient market economy system in accordance with the established criteria of the European Union. It is concluded that there are two main reasons. Firstly, the 30-year war between Georgia and Russia (occupied territories, internally displaced persons) and, secondly, the incompleteness of the process of “de-Sovietization” / de-Sovietization and other internal “transformational” barriers associated with it, due to which it was not possible to overcome 30 years of economic and social crisis.