At the EU press conference dedicated to the 2023 Enlargement package and the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans on November 8, the European Commission recommended granting EU candidate status to Georgia.

"Georgia has taken steps to strengthen engagement with the EU and increased the pace of reforms in recent months. To address the twelve priorities identified in the Commission Opinion on its membership application, Georgia has adopted legislative acts and policy actions on gender equality, on fighting violence against women and organized crime, as well as on taking into account European Court of Human Rights judgments. A judicial reform has been brought forward, although a holistic reform of the High Council of Justice is still needed. Georgia has shared laws and its action plan for de-oligarchisation with the Venice Commission for an opinion. A strategy for protecting human rights was adopted, and an action plan is being elaborated. A memorandum of cooperation with civil society representatives was concluded. Building a strong cross-party political consensus would contribute to addressing polarisation and accelerate its European path," the report added.

Moreover, Olivér Várhelyi, the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, stated: "In the last months, we have seen the significant results achieved by Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which clearly show that commitment and determination pay off. As we are increasing our engagement with the region in the following months, all our partners must focus on the required reforms, which are clearly outlined in our Enlargement Reports, so that we can provide a good assessment for the Council taking the next decisions."

EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński noted, "This is a big recognition from the European Union of the progress achieved within last years." He added that one should not forget that the recommendation of the EU to grant candidate status is linked to the fulfillment of concrete steps. Herczyński said that while the report acknowledges progress, it also underlines that important work is yet to be done in essential areas, such as the rule of law, media freedom, and free and fair elections.

Notably, on the same day, Russian pro-government sources, in particular propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, reported that "a sabotage group from Georgia, consisting of up to 50 people" entered Abkhazia in order to "to commit a terrorist act against the Sukhumi airport". At the time of publication of this article, there were no official comments from the de facto authorities of Abkhazia and the Government of Georgia.