Outgoing EU High Representative Josep Borrell famously said that EU candidate countries must choose between maintaining ties with Russia or pursuing EU integration.

This either/or choice oversimplifies the situation and risks dragging Georgia into a geopolitical antagonism that is likely to hurt the country. It overlooks the fact that the ruling “Georgian Dream” party is driven not by geopolitical choice but primarily by a desire for self-preservation. To remain in power, it is increasingly resorting to an authoritarian playbook, including election fraud and curtailing the rights of anyone who might challenge it.

Georgian Dream’s seemingly contradictory moves with regard to the EU may reflect a wish to join a national-conservative, Christian EU of sovereign states, as envisioned by Victor Orbán, not a liberal-democratic version of the Union that includes LGBT rights. A detailed analysis of public perceptions, undertaken in the Security Radar 2025 survey, can help contextualise the complex realities on the ground.

Our survey results reflect a balancing act: 58% of Georgians polled support a balanced approach between the EU and Russia to maintain Georgia’s security, rather than aligning with one side at the cost of deteriorating relations with the other. Overall, Security Radar data indicate that Borrell’s suggestion that Georgia should choose between Russia and the EU would put the country between a rock and a hard place.

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