On September 2, a Facebook account known for systematically spreading disinformation, “Fantina Fantina,” published a video claiming that the number of ethnic Georgians in Georgia must be reduced. In the video, it is alleged that the Georgian government has an obligation from the European Commission to reduce the Georgian population to 300,000. According to the video’s author, only public servants will remain in the country.
Fantina Fantina (0:37): “…The Georgian Dream took responsibility to reduce Georgians to 300,000. […] It is at the request of the European Commission, which they’re hiding from you, that they undertook the obligation to reduce Georgians to 300,000. Before the previous elections, the number of public servants was 340,000. Now, draw your own conclusions – who will remain, and who are those 300,000.”
It is disinformation that the Georgian government has undertaken an obligation from the European Commission to reduce the number of ethnic Georgians in the country to 300,000. No such agreement can be found in publicly available sources. The Government Administration of Georgia also denied to Myth Detector that such an agreement exists.
Georgia does indeed have certain obligations to the European Union, but no publicly available source contains information about any agreement that would require reducing the number of ethnic Georgians. In 2014, Georgia and the EU signed the Association Agreement, under which Georgia committed to fulfill certain obligations to help it advance toward EU membership. The recommendations and bilateral obligations are detailed in a 500-page document, but nowhere is there a provision about reducing the Georgian population. The Association Agreement outlines criteria regarding democratic reforms, rule of law, non-discriminatory treatment, economic changes, and similar areas.
Georgia undertook additional obligations after declaring its desire to obtain EU candidate status. In 2022, the European Commission sent Georgia 12 recommendations, compliance with which would grant the country candidate status. Later, at the end of 2023, Georgia was given 9 recommendations to fulfill before the start of accession negotiations. Neither the 12 nor the 9 recommendations concerned reducing the number of ethnic Georgians. Most of them focused on ensuring judicial independence, efforts to reduce polarization, anti-corruption reforms, and limiting oligarchic influence on political and economic life.
Since no agreement of this nature could be found in open sources, Myth Detector requested information from the Administration of the Government of Georgia. The head of the Legal Department, Sopio Sichinava, confirmed that no agreement requiring a reduction of ethnic Georgians has ever been signed, and the claim is disinformation. The administration’s written response states:
“In response to your letter No. N23270 of September 5, 2025, we inform you that not only does the Government of Georgia have no such obligation with the European Commission under any agreement, but this information is a complete falsehood, having no connection with reality. The Government of Georgia, when signing any agreement, is guided solely by the national interests of the country, and this will continue in the future.”
In March 2025, to fact-check similar disinformation about the number of ethnic Georgians, Myth Detector requested population data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia. GeoStat provided results from the 2014 census, showing that 3,713,804 ethnic Georgians lived in the country. Read more in the article:
It is also noteworthy that the European Commission consistently expresses concern about demographic changes and considers them a challenge. However, the EU has no authority to determine population numbers in countries. There is also no evidence that the EU has ever issued recommendations or obligations for reducing a country’s population.
Disinformation related to the European Union often circulates on social media. Frequently, false information concerns Georgia’s obligations to the EU. The spreaders of these claims attempt to present the EU’s recommendations as inappropriate for Georgia and to convince Facebook users that fulfilling them poses a threat. Myth Detector has fact-checked many such claims:
- What is included in the EU’s financial assistance for candidate countries?
- Disinformation, as if the European Union is demanding the removal of hagiography from the school curriculum
- In exchange for membership, the EU does not require Georgia to legalize same-sex marriage
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