Georgia was granted EU candidate country in late 2023, but it needs to undertake a number of reforms before the actual negotiations would start. The European Council’s decision came following a complicated year, when the ruling Georgian Dream was faced with criticism from the West and domestic turmoil for what were perceived as pro-Russian and authoritarian policies. Veridica spoke with the co-founder of the Center for Strategic Analysis (GSAC), former Georgian Ambassador to Russia Valery Chechelashvili about how the events of 2023 could affect the future of Georgia, considering the fact that 2024 is an election year.
The narratives were launched / amplified by Moscow and pro-Russians, and the theses included Moldova’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, an attack on Transnistria and EU rapprochement.
The Republic of Moldova will join the EU by 2030, believes President Maia Sandu. In an exclusive interview, Maia Sandu also spoke about Russia's pressure on Moldova.
The European Council's decision to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia indicates Brussels' desire to play a more active role in foreign policy. There are several reasons for this.
If Moldova joins the EU, Transnistria will become a destination for migrants and polluting industries, according to a pro-Kremlin publication, which also reads that the promises of European integration for the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine were made only in order to distance the two countries from Russia and that none of them has, in fact, any chance of becoming a member of the EU.
The European Council has greenlit EU accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova despite Hungary’s opposition. Veridica has examined Budapest’s counterarguments and the way the announcement was received in Kyiv and Chișinău.
The West plans to replace Maia Sandu, to unify the Republic of Moldova with Romania and to annex Transnistria, according to a false narrative published in Moscow and Chișinău.
A Russian-inspired sovereigntist law proposed by Viktor Orban's party targets the press, civil society and the opposition. In parallel, FIDESZ promotes anti-EU messages in the election campaign.
The recent killing of a Georgian by Russian troops brought into spotlight Moscow’s policy of encroaching of Georgian land. It was also an attempt to sabotage Tbilisi’s EU integration.
The accession of Ukraine and Moldova will completely weaken the EU, Dmitry Medvedev prophesizes. Medvedev is a radical advocate of Russian propaganda who ignores realities about budget constructions and European economies.
The EU wants Ukraine to revise the legislation on national minorities, but Nazi-dominated Kyiv refuses, writes the Russian propaganda, which also resumes the "Western colony" narrative.
The New Zoning Code, imposed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), will impact citizens’ right to property, according to a journalist who spreads fake news and advocates conspiracy theories.
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Several European states are refusing to help Ukraine financially anymore, according to a website that has published numerous anti-Ukrainian or conspiratorial materials.
For a lasting peace in Ukraine, Zelensky will have to cede part of the territory to Russia, according to pro-Kremlin propaganda, which cites pro-Russian experts in the West
Estonia has pleaded tough sanctions against Russia, and yet Estonian entities and persons – even from the Prime minister’s family – have been breaking some of the existing sanctions.
The dismantling of the Nagorno Karabakh republic was the most important change in the South Caucus since Turkey (re)emerged as a powerhouse there. More changes might follow.
The pro-European administration in Chișinău wants to drag the country into NATO, despite opposition from the majority population, in order to increase the country’s chances of joining the EU, the Russian media writes.
The EU and Romania want Moldova to forcefully annex Transnistria, while the Moldovan army is running attack drills focusing on this region, the Russian media writes, claiming the plan will observe the logic of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Poland’s liberal opposition hopes to break the ruling PiS’ long spell in power at the October 15 elections. The conservatives are betting on harshening their tone towards Ukraine, and the EU.
Kyiv’s willingness to join NATO and the EU has resulted in a demographic catastrophe, according to pro-Kremlin propaganda, which ignores the exodus caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As experts warn that Georgia will not be granted EU candidate status this year, authorities allege there was a coup plot and the parliament impeaches the president.
The European Union wants to expand eastward to seize territories at the expense of Russia and is ready to turn a blind eye to the fact that candidate countries do not meet the accession criteria, according to a publication affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Viktor Orbán’s aggressive speech delivered in the Hungarian Parliament is evidence of Hungary’s lack of solutions to an economic crisis amplified by Orbán’s own policy-making, as well as of its growing isolation at EU and NATO levels.
The decision of EU states to ban the access of vehicles with Russian license plates is evidence of Europe’s Nazism and Russophobia, pro-Kremlin media writes.
The EU is giving money for bridges over the Prut and European gauge in Moldova so that NATO can more easily send weapons to Ukraine, according to a false narrative circulating in Chisinau
The EU is not ready for the next phase of enlargement, according to a piece of disinformation carried by the Russian media, which tries to prove the Republic of Moldova has no European prospects.
Moldova, less reliant on Russian gas imports: Gazprom loses control over Moldova’s gas transport network, whereas Chișinău authorities say the country’s 700-million-dollar debt to Gazprom is a sham.
A small group of people, with a hidden agenda, will decide what can be published online, according to a Romanian MEP, well-known for the conspiracy theories he promotes.
Maia Sandu and the PAS government are destroying the education system in Moldova at the behest of the West, which wants the country to be a source of cheap labor, according to a false narrative carried by the Russian media.
Georgia is increasingly economically dependent on Russia, which generates security risks for Tbilisi. There are also concerns that Moscow is circumventing Western sanctions through Georgia.
The government in Chisinau is being forced by the West to withdraw from the CIS, which is destroying the economy of the Republic of Moldova, according to a false narrative appearing in the pro-Kremlin media.
