“A bridge to Europe cannot be built on authoritarian foundations — but it can easily be burned by them.”
For years, Georgians have looked westward. Polls consistently show that more than 80% of the population supports joining the European Union. For many, EU membership represents a path toward prosperity, security, and freedom from Moscow’s shadow. And yet, Georgia’s ruling party — Georgian Dream — seems intent on taking a different path, one that risks severing the very bridge to Europe its people hope to cross.
Lessons From Romania: A Tale of Two Orthodox Democracies
On the surface, Romania and Georgia share striking similarities:
- Both are deeply influenced by conservative Orthodox churches.
- Both face ethnic tensions and uneasy relationships with minorities.
- Both wrestle with generational divides: younger, urban citizens lean toward Europe, while rural, older populations hold more traditional views.
- Both have seen populist and nationalist parties weaponize “traditional values” against LGBTQ rights and liberal reforms.
But there is one decisive difference: Romania has independent courts; Georgia does not.
In Romania, institutions like the Constitutional Court act as circuit breakers. When elections are tainted by irregularities or foreign influence, courts can intervene — as they did by annulling the first round of Romania’s 2024 presidential vote. As an EU member, Romania is also bound by the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, giving citizens additional protections.
In Georgia, the judiciary is widely seen as captured by the ruling party. When Georgian Dream pushes through restrictive laws — from the “foreign agents” law to anti-LGBTQ provisions — there is no credible domestic legal avenue to stop them. With no EU membership, there is no binding external court either. That absence of independent checks makes all the difference.
Burning the Bridge
By undermining judicial independence, passing repressive laws, and aligning more closely with Moscow’s playbook than Brussels’, Georgian Dream is burning the bridge to the EU. The EU has made judicial reform, rule of law, and protection of fundamental rights explicit conditions for accession. Instead of moving toward those standards, the government is moving away.
This is not just about values — it’s about practical geopolitics. Without credible courts, investors hesitate, opposition parties lose faith in the process, and minorities are left exposed. Democracy erodes not in a dramatic collapse, but in the slow, deliberate hollowing out of institutions.
The Road Ahead
Romania shows that an Orthodox-majority society can remain conservative on social issues while still anchored in the EU system. Its courts and EU obligations prevent outright backsliding, even amid populist pressures. Georgia, by contrast, risks sliding into competitive authoritarianism — a system where elections exist, but institutions are controlled, and the outcome is foreordained.
The Georgian people may still want Europe. But unless institutions are restored, unless the judiciary is freed from party capture, that bridge may already be burning.
