TBILISI, May 25 – The European Union is keeping its ambassador in Georgia in place, despite repeated clashes with the country’s ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party.
EU Ambassador Paweł Herczyński was due to finish his four-year term in September 2026, which would have marked the end of a turbulent posting during which he frequently drew the governing party’s anger.
However, Rezonansi reports that the EU Delegation has confirmed Herczyński’s mandate has been extended, likely by one year. The delegation also said the decision was not made now by the European External Action Service.
The move comes after several years of difficult relations between Tbilisi and Brussels. EU officials have repeatedly accused Georgia’s government of democratic backsliding and drifting away from the country’s European path, while GD says Brussels is treating Georgia unfairly and interfering in domestic politics.
Herczyński began his work in Georgia in September 2022. Since then, he has repeatedly been criticized by government officials. The sharpest moment came on April 27, when he was summoned to Georgia’s Foreign Ministry after making critical comments in Brussels.
Georgian Dream has not yet made an official statement about the extension of Herczyński’s mandate, but ruling party figures are already accusing EU institutions of ignoring Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s open letter to EU leaders.
Kobakhidze sent the letter on May 19 to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. In it, he accused the EU of cutting off relations with Georgia unilaterally and pointed to a police crackdown at a pro-Palestinian protest in Denmark.
Georgian Dream MP Irakli Cheishvili said EU leaders have stayed silent for several days, including the EU ambassador in Tbilisi. He accused Brussels of double standards, saying European police actions against protesters are treated differently from police actions in Georgia.
Cheishvili said the EU says nothing when protesters in Denmark and other EU countries are handled with batons and dogs, while criticizing Georgia even when police act “in a mild form and in compliance with the law.”
Political analyst Zaal Anjaparidze told Rezonansi that keeping Herczyński in Georgia sends a political message to Georgian Dream.
He said the EU is signaling that while the ruling party may be unhappy with Herczyński, Brussels is satisfied with his work.
At the same time, Anjaparidze said the decision is also practical. A new ambassador would need time to understand Georgia’s political and social environment, while Herczyński already knows the country and its current crisis.
Anjaparidze also argued that Herczyński’s important actions and statements in Georgia are coordinated with Brussels. If that were not the case, he said, the EU would have raised the issue of recalling him.
In his view, changing the ambassador would not change much in Georgia-EU relations, because Brussels’ policy toward the Georgian government would remain the same.
Reflecting on the silence from Brussels over Kobakhidze’s letter, the analyst said not enough time has passed yet to know whether the EU will respond, but added that if there is still no official reaction in the coming week, it may mean Brussels has decided not to treat Georgian Dream as worthy of a reply.
