“What was said yesterday in Brussels is, of course, devastating for Georgia — the country has been thrown several years back. Georgian Dream’s main goal is to stay in power, and it does not care about the European Union. It is doing everything possible to further deepen Brussels’ alienation from us,” said political analyst Paata Zakareishvili on PalitraNews’s program Dgis Newsroom, commenting on the EU enlargement report.

According to him, Georgian Dream is satisfied with the enlargement report, as it is not truly devastating for the party — at least not until “the people actually and genuinely take to the streets.”

“We have about 100,000 people who show up at peak moments. Everything depends only on the people — not on the EU, not on the U.S., not on the ‘Friends Act,’ not on China or Russia — only on the Georgian people. Those 100,000 people come out for half a day, not for two weeks. We have 100–200 people who have been out on the streets every day for a year — they’ve put everything aside and continue to protest. Alongside them, we have 100,000 people who also do not want Georgian Dream. These people come out for 2–3 hours. What would happen if they came out for just two weeks — not for a year, not for a month, but for two weeks? That would be devastating for Georgian Dream and transformative for Georgia,” Zakareishvili said.

Discussing the political landscape, Zakareishvili explained that for Georgian Dream, retaining power is of fundamental importance, and the only state that supports or at least does not obstruct this goal is Russia.

“In this context, Russia has become a factor assisting Georgian Dream in maintaining power. Between 2016 and 2020, Georgian Dream still hoped to retain power within a European framework. But after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Moscow sent a clear message: ‘There’s no time to play games with you — you can keep power, but only if you clearly align with Russian policy,’” he noted.

Zakareishvili also spoke about Armenia’s European aspirations, noting that the EU is now working more actively with Yerevan because it is “betting on a moving state.”

“Practically speaking, the EU is now doing more with Armenia. Imagine one train ahead but stopped, and another behind but moving — sooner or later, the moving train will catch up. Georgia is ahead in terms of visa liberalization and candidate status, while Armenia doesn’t yet have these — but it’s moving. Very soon, Armenia could surpass Georgia if it achieves candidate status and visa liberalization. The EU is now betting on a state that’s in motion,” said Zakareishvili.

He added that, in the broader global and European integration context, Georgia had not seen a darker day than yesterday.

“Especially Georgian Dream supporters should remember this — when Moldova becomes an EU member state, your grandchild should come and spit in your face, because you deprived them of their future. From a global and European integration perspective, Georgia has not had a darker day than yesterday. What Sulkhan-Saba once began was defeated yesterday — and I hope only temporarily,” said Zakareishvili.

Commenting on Georgian Dream representatives’ — including Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili’s — harsh criticism of Brussels, Zakareishvili said that the ruling party had finally found “a man who is ready to do anything.”

“Remember Kutchava and Archil Talakvadze? Where are they now? They didn’t live up to expectations. Finally, they found Shalva Papuashvili. Georgian Dream has always had problems with personnel — you can see how hard it is for them to pick people. Finally, they found someone willing to do anything, like Kobakhidze and Mdinaradze. And yet, we’re supposed to believe Georgian Dream is weak,” Zakareishvili remarked.

When asked about possible EU sanctions, Zakareishvili said, “If we are expecting sanctions that will be truly devastating for Georgian Dream, those won’t happen.

What we want won’t happen, and what will happen won’t be enough. There could be sanctions such as revoking visa liberalization for the elite. That wouldn’t be pleasant for them, but they’ll find a way to wiggle out of it,” the political analyst concluded.