Abstract

The purpose of the research of this work is to examine the long-term economic relations between the European Union and Georgia, to reveal the economic potential of Georgia and the priority directions that the country has on the way to European integration. For this purpose, the article analyzes the past experiences of some EU member states, from candidacy to the present day. It shows the prospects for Georgia's economic development and the country's strategic goal - ensuring freedom, stability, and development of Georgia, safeguarding human, family security, health, social status, dignified ageing, and protecting all human rights.

The paper analyzes several priority directions of the European Union and its long-term perspectives, the historical aspects of cooperation between Georgia and the EU, and Georgia's proactive steps to deepen integration with the EU. It also analyzes the challenges Georgia faces in various fields, such as innovative development and the development of the transport-logistics function, which is a key precondition for the utilization of the country's economic potential. The positive involvement of the EU in the achieved successes has been identified.

Obtaining EU candidate status is naturally considered a positive and forward-looking step. Georgia is given solid and enhanced opportunities for positive changes, reforms, and raising the country's welfare. The country will more quickly achieve a higher pace of population welfare growth — specifically, it will reduce unemployment and poverty, increase the average pension, reduce mortality from road-transport accidents, decrease CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, and improve air quality. The European Union is Georgia's largest donor; the integration bloc annually provides substantial amounts of grants to support reforms. The aim of the assistance is to develop the economic situation, raise the quality of education, establish good, unbiased, fair governance harmonized with European standards, and protect human rights, environmental protection being defined as one of the priority directions.

The article compares development rates and economic indicators between EU member and non-member developing countries. It reveals the tendency that the EU member country achieves progress in economic, political, and social spheres more quickly and relatively easily.

Georgia is one of the leading transit countries — its geopolitical location serves as a kind of bridge between the West and Central Asia. This location allows the country to occupy an important place in global economic processes. Developing the country's potential in this direction, such as the "Europe-Caucasus-Asia Corridor Program," the Transcaucasian pipelines—"Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan" and "Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum" gas pipelines, the Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti, and the construction of the deep-water port of Anaklia, turning Georgia into a transport-economic hub, will also be beneficial. 

Keywords: Euro-integration, candidate country, countrys economic potential, countrys strategic goal