The ruling Georgian Dream party framed the recent election as a choice between war and peace with Russia, a neighbour on which Georgia relies as much as it does on Europe, explains Alexandra Dienes in Haaretz. Yet the majority of Georgians overwhelmingly want to join the EU, associating it with the higher living standards they aspire to. While Georgian Dream pays lip service to these aspirations, it implements steps from the Authoritarian Playbook, most recently during the elections, during which the European Commission observed frequent compromises on vote secrecy. This leaves the EU caught in a dilemma: how to hold Georgia accountable while keeping it on the European path?

Read more in Haaretz.