In September 2024, representatives of the “Unity – National Movement” made several statements about the potential receipt of €14 billion, which they claim is being blocked by the Georgian Dream government. The politicians explained that, if they win the elections, they would ensure that Georgia begins negotiations for EU membership, which would grant the country access to €14 billion.
These statements raised questions about which fund or funds the politicians were referring to, as the budget of the fund they seem to be referencing—€14 billion—is spread across seven beneficiaries from 2021 to 2027, not just one country. In a comment to “Myth Detector,” coalition members clarified that the €14 billion is an approximate amount they have calculated as necessary for the reforms Georgia needs to implement before joining the EU, and they believe they can secure these funds. However, they did not specify the exact funds that Georgia would have access to upon starting membership negotiations, which would bring €14 billion to the country. As a result, the initial statements made by the politicians are misleading and do not match the clarifications provided later. Below, we review the promises made by the “Unity – National Movement” and the subsequent clarifications in detail.
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€14 billion: What did the representatives of the “Unity – National Movement” say?
On September 10, the official Facebook page of the “Unity – National Movement” published a video titled “€14 billion for Georgia.” In the video, “Unity – National Movement” representatives Tina Bokuchava and Giorgi Vashadze discuss the €14 billion, which they claim Georgia will have access to if they win the elections on October 26. Bokuchava explained that they would open negotiations for EU membership, and “from that moment,” Georgia would have access to the €14 billion EU accession fund, which the country is currently missing out on because “Ivanishvili is blocking the European integration process.”
“We promise you that the ‘Unity National Movement,’ together with our coalition partners, will open negotiations for EU membership immediately after winning the election. From that moment, Georgia will have access to the €14 billion EU accession fund. This is the fund that Ivanishvili is blocking access to now. This €14 billion is what various countries used at different stages of accession—for example, to finance the construction of schools and hospitals, build housing for vulnerable groups like internally displaced persons, subsidize utility payments for vulnerable families, and fund exchange programs for thousands of students abroad,” Bokuchava said.
In the video, Giorgi Vashadze also stated that the “Unity – National Movement” could bring this money to the country very quickly.
“Today, the Georgian Dream is blocking €14 billion. This is a colossal amount of money—€14 billion. Just imagine what this money could do for Georgia. We can bring this €14 billion, but they are blocking it. On October 26, you will go to the elections and decide—do we want €14 billion for Georgia or not, and let only they be rich while the people remain in extreme poverty?” Vashadze said.
In the following days, when asked by journalists, Giorgi Vashadze said that he would name the specific funds “as soon as Irakli Kobakhidze comes on live TV,” and if he refuses to debate, Vashadze would provide journalists with information about these funds—”they are somewhat bigger funds than you might imagine.”
Later, several party representatives spoke to the media about the €14 billion (1;2), including Paata Manjgaladze, who repeated in a briefing that the party would begin negotiations with the EU immediately after winning the election, which would result in Georgia gaining access to the €14 billion.
“Our promise is real: if we win, we will bring in €14 billion, meaning Georgia will have access to €14 billion. This is real; this is a specific European fund that is allocated before accession to finance reforms in areas such as administration, economy, and social issues. I understand Georgian Dream—they don’t have the competence, nor do they want €14 billion to come to Georgia, but we will bring in this €14 billion. We are also ready to debate any Georgian Dream representative, be it Kaladze, Papuashvili, or anyone else who says this isn’t possible, and explain to the people how we will bring €14 billion to Georgia after winning the elections to solve the problems the citizens of Georgia face—jobs, the education system, infrastructure projects. This is real, everyone knows this. For example, the Samtredia-Grigoleti road is being built today with European funds. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia followed this path, and the reason these countries are now developed and have high standards of well-being is thanks to similar European assistance and funds. This is real. Georgian Dream is blocking this opportunity, and on October 26, together with the people, we will open this opportunity because we will start negotiations immediately, and Georgia will gain immediate access to the €14 billion fund. This is the reality,” the politician said.
When asked which fund he was referring to, Manjgaladze did not name a specific fund or funds from which they plan to raise the €14 billion. When further asked whether the National Movement would be able to channel the €14 billion, which is distributed among several countries, solely towards Georgia, the politician responded:
“The statements of Georgian Dream confirm that they do not understand what is being discussed. The accession process means that Georgia must become an EU member within a specific timeframe. EU membership means access not only to European state funds but also to business circles, which involve much more money than the specific €14 billion, and going even further—on this same path, Poland received €245 million, which is why today Poland is one of the most successful countries.”
On September 14, another party representative, Vaso Urushadze, in an interview with TV Pirveli, stated in response to a journalist’s question on how the party calculated the €14 billion, that they were talking about a combination of funds and “we are not talking about just one specific fund.”
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IPA III: €14 billion in pre-accession aid for countries before joining the EU
Listening to the statements from representatives of the “Unity – National Movement” party, it creates the impression that there is a specific €14 billion fund or a combination of funds from which this amount can be drawn. According to their comments, the country will have access to this funding once negotiations for EU accession begin.
A €14 billion fund does indeed exist. According to a statement published on the European Commission’s website, the EU adopted a budget for pre-accession assistance (IPA) for the 2021-2027 period, amounting to almost €14.2 billion. This budget is intended to support candidate and potential candidate countries in key political, social, economic, and institutional reforms.
“The EU pre-accession funds are a sound investment into the future of both the enlargement region and the EU. They support beneficiaries to implement the necessary political and economic reforms, preparing them for the rights and obligations that come with the EU membership. Those reforms should provide their citizens with better opportunities and allow for the development of standards, equal to the ones we enjoy as citizens of the EU. The pre-accession funds also help the EU reach its own objectives including a sustainable economic situation, energy supply, transport, the environment and climate change, and stability,” reads the IPA description.
The program that helps candidate countries for EU accession has been in operation since 2007. For the 2007-2013 period, the IPA budget was €11.5 billion, while for the 2014-2020 period, the IPA II budget was €12.8 billion. The current IPA III budget is set at €14.162 billion.
However, this budget is not intended for one specific country. The current beneficiaries are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.
Source: European Commission
Information published on the European Commission’s website also details how the budgets of IPA I and IPA II were distributed by country. From these tables, we can see that the entire budget was never allocated to just one candidate country.
Budget -IPA II და IPA III
Thus, while IPA does indeed allocate a budget of nearly €14.2 billion for 2021-2027, there are seven beneficiary countries that are currently in negotiations for EU membership. Consequently, this budget is divided among the beneficiary countries, and no single country has access to the entire €14.2 billion.
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Which Funds Are the “Unity – National Movement” Representatives Referring To?
After opposition members made statements about the €14 billion and access to funds after starting membership negotiations, questions arose as to which fund or funds they intended to draw this money from. Considering that the IPA III fund indeed has a budget of €14 billion, but not for just one country, we reached out to representatives of the “Unity – National Movement” party for clarification.
Initially, “Myth Detector” contacted Zurab Chiaberashvili, who explained that the EU helps countries that wish to join, and therefore, after Georgia begins negotiations, it will have the opportunity to implement various reforms with EU assistance. For example, Chiaberashvili mentioned an article published by The Guardian, which, based on The Financial Times, discussed €250 billion for new EU members. The Guardian did indeed publish this article on October 4, 2023, but it mentions that adding nine new members will cost the EU €250 billion, and these countries will transition from financial recipients to contributors. The largest of these nine countries is Ukraine, for which €186 billion will be allocated over seven years.
“Myth Detector” also spoke to Giorgi Vashadze. He stated that when politicians talk about €14 billion, they are not referring to the IPA’s €14 billion budget. According to him, the party calculated an approximate amount needed to bring Georgia’s economy up to European standards. He further explained that the party’s political stance is that they will attract €14 billion from various funds for the country’s development.
“When this fund was created, Georgia was not even theoretically considered a candidate country. In 2021, there was no discussion about this at all; we were an associate member and in a completely different situation. The political environment changed in 2022, and Georgia gained candidate status after much struggle. The next step is membership negotiations. Starting these negotiations is crucial to mobilizing the financial resources needed for Georgia’s full EU membership. We estimate that €14 billion is roughly the amount Georgia needs to develop to European economic standards.” – said Giorgi Vashadze.
“We are saying that with the start of membership negotiations, we will mobilize approximately €14 billion for Georgia over the coming years from EU and structural funds that are allocated for accession and other targeted initiatives. We estimate this amount is needed to meet the standards required for full membership in the European Union.” – explained Giorgi Vashadze.
The politician also addressed the question of whether it is feasible for Georgia to attract €14 billion and how realistic this plan is. He mentioned a concrete example from the Balkans, where a €30 billion initiative aims to address issues such as sustainable transportation, green energy, the environment and climate, technology development, human capital, and private sector development.
The initiative Vashadze referred to is a €30 billion investment package aimed at mobilizing investments. Additionally, in July 2024, the European Commission announced a €1.2 billion investment package to support infrastructure and entrepreneurship in the six Western Balkan countries. This €1.2 billion package includes a €300 million grant from IPA III. The EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans (covering Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Albania) was adopted in October 2020 and aims to mobilize up to €30 billion in investments over seven years, including €9 billion in grants from the IPA III budget. So far, the EU has approved programs that aim to mobilize up to €17.7 billion in investments and €5.4 billion in EU grants.
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Specific Fund(s) or the Party’s Approximate Estimate?
Neither Giorgi Vashadze nor any other politician from the party mentioned specific funds that, along with other countries that are candidates for EU membership, would also be available to Georgia. According to Vashadze, the €14 billion is an approximate amount that Georgia needs for development, and this figure was calculated by party representatives themselves. Accordingly, their political promise is to attract these funds from various sources.
It is important to note that Vashadze’s explanation contradicts earlier statements, such as the one made by Paata Manjgaladze: “This is real, this is a specific European fund, which is designated for administrative, economic, and social reforms before joining the EU. The fund is €14 billion.”
Tina Bokuchava also referred to immediate access to a €14 billion fund once negotiations begin: “Unity – National Movement, together with coalition partners, will open negotiations on EU membership immediately after winning the elections. From that moment, Georgia will have access to the EU’s €14 billion membership fund. This is the fund that Ivanishvili is now blocking. This is €14 billion that various countries have used at different stages of their membership process.”
Vashadze’s explanation also contradicts his own earlier statement that was reported in the media on September 23: “On December 15, when we begin negotiations on Georgia’s full EU membership, a €14 billion aid package will be activated, a fund that covers many areas.”
Thus, some representatives of the Unity National Movement were referring to a specific fund or funds, asserting that the Georgian Dream party is blocking access to the €14 billion, which Georgia will have once negotiations begin. The €14 billion fund does indeed exist as IPA III, but it is allocated for seven beneficiaries over the 2021-2027 period, not for any single country. Despite initial statements referring to specific funds and “immediate access,” in interviews with “Myth Detector,” politicians denied referring to the IPA budget or any specific fund, explaining instead that the €14 billion is an estimate they calculated as necessary for Georgia’s development and preparation for membership.
