On August 21, the pro-government TV channel Imedi published a social media card on its Facebook page claiming that the European Commission’s spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, and some Georgian TV channels are lying when they deny the European Commission’s connection to a study allegedly commissioned and published by the Commission. Imedi refers to the “Chandler Good Government Index,” about which Anitta Hipper stated that the report was neither supported nor commissioned by the European Commission.
Earlier, Mamuka Mdinaradze, a member of the Georgian Dream party, accused the European Union of “double standards,” claiming that Georgia had made significant progress in the “Good Government 2025 Report” allegedly prepared by the European Commission. He attributed this progress to the ruling party. Pro-government media outlets reported Mdinaradze’s comments without providing any additional information about the study (1;2;3;4;5;6;7;8).
The “Chandler Good Government Index” is not conducted at the request of the European Commission. To support its claim, Imedi TV points out that the study is published on the European Commission’s website. In reality, the study was carried out by the independent organization Chandler Institute of Governance and published in the European Commission’s Composite Indicators & Scoreboards Explorer. The website clearly states that the author of the study is the Chandler Institute.
On August 21, the TV channel Formula aired the response of Anitta Hipper, EU spokesperson for foreign and security policy, who explained that the index was not commissioned by the European Union. It was prepared by the Chandler Institute of Governance based on its own methodology, and the institute “is neither part of the European Commission nor speaks on its behalf.”
The Chandler Institute of Governance has been publishing the Good Government Index since 2021. It evaluates the annual progress of 120 countries worldwide using 35 indicators grouped into seven categories: Leadership & Foresight, Robust Laws & Policies, Strong Institutions, Financial Stewardship, Attractive Marketplace, Global Influence & Reputation, and Helping People Rise. Each year, the research is funded by the Chandler Foundation, as indicated on the first pages of the report. The printed versions of the report also thank the Chandler Foundation for financing the research.
For its part, the Chandler Institute lists a number of partners on its website; however, the European Union or any of its institutions is not among them.
The European Commission has created the Composite Indicators & Scoreboards Explorer to host global research studies. The studies published on it are categorized into two groups: EU policy priorities and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Each publication specifies what type of study it is (index or scoreboard), who conducted it, and when it was published. Some studies are marked as commissioned or conducted by the European Union or its bodies.
Nowhere in the platform’s policy does the European Commission state that only studies it has commissioned or participated in are published. Instead, it clarifies that the database was designed to study and visualize data from over 100 scoreboards and indices to help the Commission “take the pulse of societies.”
Therefore, the claim that the “Chandler Good Government Index” is prepared at the request of the EU is false. Media outlets often refer to it as the “Good Government Index published on the European Commission’s website,” but this does not imply EU involvement in conducting the study. Even Imedi TV itself had never previously stated that the index was commissioned by the European Commission. In past reports, it simply noted that the study was published on the Commission’s website and prepared by the Chandler Institute.
- What does the Chandler Good Government Index say about Georgia?
According to the Chandler Good Government Index 2025, Georgia ranks 42nd globally (p. 22). Of the evaluated criteria, Georgia scores highest in Robust Laws & Policies (26th place) and lowest in Global Influence & Reputation (55th place). Another low score (53rd) appears under Helping People Rise, which measures citizens’ well-being.
The seven criteria that make up the index are further divided into subcategories. In the subcategories of the criterion Helping People Rise, Georgia ranks 95th out of 120 for employment, 79th for price stability, 74th for healthcare, 65th for personal safety, etc.
Georgia is also mentioned several times in the report. For instance, in terms of improvement since the index’s inception, Georgia is among the top five countries in the Middle East, Central, and Western Asia region (p. 59). This region includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan; Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, UAE; Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey (p. 113).
Georgia’s ranking has fallen by three places in one year. It was 38th in 2022, then went down to 39th and to 42nd in 2025, showing a three-position decline compared to last year. This drop is explained by faster progress made by other countries – over these years, Georgia’s position declined compared to other countries, but its overall score decreased once: 0.577 in 2022, 0.574 in 2023, 0.597 in 2024, and 0.610 in 2025.
Pro-government media and “Georgian Dream” representatives have frequently used international indices and studies in a manipulative way. Their statements and the studies themselves have often been fact-checked by Myth Detector. Read more in the following materials:
- Is Georgia Ahead of EU Countries in Terms of Media Freedom and Democracy Index?
- V-Dem Index on Civil Society Disseminated Without Context
- What should be considered when discussing the reduction of absolute poverty levels?
- How Do Representatives of The Ruling Party Manipulate World Bank Data?
- Is Georgia ahead of seven EU countries and eleven NATO countries in terms of rule of law?
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