Georgia's accession process to the European Union has currently been halted as a result of the the ‘foreign agents’ law and the anti-LGTBQIA+ law. The Georgian government's announcement to put the EU integration process on hold until 2028 raises concerns that repression against civil society and marginalised groups will continue to intensify. These developments make it even more important to increase Georgian civil society's knowledge of European standards on the rule of law in order to strengthen its monitoring and advocacy capacities.
The first of three training sessions took place on 21 and 22 November 2024 in Tbilisi. The first session covered the definition and shaping of European values, as well as the importance of EU benchmarking in this area. The trainers Vano Chkhikvadze (Civil Society Foundation) and Professor Dr Adam Łazowski (University of Westminster) provided practical tools for monitoring the democratisation process in Georgia.