Tbilisi: In a move that signals a deeper rift in Georgia’s long-standing ties with the West, the government has decided to shut down the EU and NATO Information Centre — a key institution that has symbolized the country’s aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration for nearly two decades.
Established in 2005, the Information Centre was located in Tbilisi’s central Freedom Square and operated as a hub for informing the Georgian public about the country’s path toward European Union and NATO membership. Over the years, it played an essential role in promoting transparency, civic education, and public dialogue around Georgia’s foreign policy orientation.
However, as confirmed by officials on Tuesday, the Centre will now be folded into the Foreign Ministry’s broader communication structure. Several staff members are expected to be laid off, while others may be reassigned. The government cited administrative reorganization and cost-efficiency, but analysts see it as a political maneuver reflecting Georgia’s cooling relationship with the West.
The decision comes against the backdrop of growing tensions between Georgia and its Western partners. Although Georgia was granted EU candidate status in 2023 and has had a NATO membership promise on the table since the 2008 Bucharest Summit, the ruling Georgian Dream party has shown increasing resistance to deeper integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would suspend further EU accession negotiations until at least 2028, citing a need for national "sovereignty and strategic autonomy." The shift has been widely attributed to the influence of Bidzina Ivanishvili — a reclusive billionaire, founder of the Georgian Dream party, and former prime minister — who has resurfaced in recent months as a vocal critic of Western influence.
Ivanishvili has gone so far as to describe Western alliances as being steered by a "global war party," accusing them of trying to destabilize Georgia and drag the country into a conflict with Russia. His remarks have drawn sharp criticism from Brussels and Washington, who see the rhetoric as alarmingly aligned with Kremlin narratives.
The European Union, in response to Georgia’s legislative changes and perceived backsliding on democratic reforms, has frozen its membership application process. The controversial "foreign agents" law — widely seen as mimicking Russia’s crackdown on civil society — has further strained EU-Georgia relations.
Meanwhile, the United States has imposed targeted sanctions on Ivanishvili, accusing him of fostering corruption and obstructing democratic institutions. U.S. State Department officials have expressed growing concern about Georgia's democratic trajectory and called for renewed engagement with civil society.
Though the Georgian government insists that it still aspires to join both the EU and NATO in the long term, the closure of the Information Centre is being interpreted as a symbolic break from that vision. Civic groups and opposition parties have condemned the move, warning that it represents a step backward for Georgia’s democracy and regional security alignment.
“This is more than just the closure of an office,” said a former staff member at the Centre. “It is a message to the public and to our allies that Georgia is reconsidering its direction.”
As geopolitical fault lines deepen across Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, Georgia’s pivot away from the West and toward a more isolationist and nationalistic posture raises critical questions about the country’s future — and the broader contest for influence between democratic and authoritarian models in the region.