On January 24, a new Eastern Partnership (EaP) index was unveiled, positioning Georgia in third place among the six EaP countries with an overall score of 0.63. Moldova claimed the top spot, followed by Ukraine in second place. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus trailed in fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively. The 2023 edition of the index delves into Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and offers detailed insights into its impact on the reform progress of the six EaP countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine), as well as their alignment with the European Union. The report categorizes the EaP countries based on three key areas: 1. Democracy, Good Governance, and Rule of Law; 2. Policy Convergence with the EU; 3. Sustainable Development.

Regarding Georgia, the document notes: “Georgia lost considerable ground across both democracy and good governance, and policy convergence indicators,” adding that “in fact Georgia’s performance was characterized by a significant downwards drift, if not a sharp plunge in many areas which reflects the country’s political polarization”. 

The Eastern Partnership Index (EaP Index or the Index) is a data-driven monitoring tool developed by civil society to track reform progress in the six Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine) in terms of democracy, good governance and rule of law, policy convergence with the EU, and sustainable development. The EaP Index is produced by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum with financial support from the European Union.