Georgia has been working closer to the West in recent years, which has made Russia nervous.
Georgia’s ruling party in the Caucasus says it intends to apply for EU membership without delay.
Chairman of the Georgian Dream Party Irakli Kobakhidze calls on the EU to process the application as soon as possible and to grant Georgia candidate status.
Georgia is following Ukraine, which announced on Monday that it had applied for EU membership.
Georgia has previously announced that it will apply for membership in 2024.
Like Ukraine, Georgia has been attacked by Russia in the past. South Ossetia and another insurgent region, Abkhazia, declared independence from Georgia in 2008 at the end of a short war between Russia and Georgia. Apart from Russia, only Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru have recognized the independence of the regions.
Georgia and the EU have already concluded an association agreement, including a deep free trade area.
Georgia has also wanted to join the military alliance NATO for years, but membership has not progressed. For example, the European Policy Center estimates that this is due to fears of a reaction from Russia.