Georgia’s accession to the European Union was halted and a part of the bloc’s financial support for the South Caucasus country was frozen after the Georgian authorities a brand new law passed Critics fear that this is able to result in a restriction of democratic freedoms, the EU ambassador to Georgia said on Tuesday.
According to Pawel Herczynski, the EU heads of state and government have decided to proceed the method through the last summit of the European Council, This follows the adoption by the Georgian authorities the law on “foreign influence” despite Weeks of protests.
In addition, a complete of 30 million euros (32.5 million dollars) in financial support earmarked for the Georgian Ministry of Defense in 2024 has been frozen, Herczynski said at a press conference.
“This is only the first step, there will be more steps. Our direct support to the government of Georgia will be limited and we will try to redirect support from the government of Georgia to civil society and the media,” he said. “It is sad to see EU-Georgia relations at such a low point when they could have been at a historic high.”
The law, which got here into force last month despite mass protests and a veto by the President of the country, Media, non-governmental organizations and other non-profit groups must register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” in the event that they receive greater than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
The opposition called the bill a “Russian law” because Moscow uses similar laws to stigmatize independent news media, organizations and individuals critical of the Kremlin. It also described its adoption as an indication that neighboring Russia has influence over Georgia.
EU officials have repeatedly denounced the law as undemocratic and said it will hinder Georgia’s path to EU membership.
The bloc agreed in December to grant Georgia candidate status on the condition that the country combat disinformation – including against the EU -, align its foreign and security policy with that of the bloc and introduce latest judicial reforms.
Accession talks haven’t gotten off the bottom. To start talks with a candidate, the 27 EU states and the country must agree on a negotiating mandate. EU experts must also conduct a screening process to research how much work is required to bring Georgia’s laws and standards into line with those of the bloc.
Once these conditions are met, an intergovernmental conference with Georgia might be convened to officially launch the talks. Each step requires the unanimous consent of all EU member states and will be blocked at any time.
At a summit on June 27, EU leaders warned Georgia that its path to membership could be blocked unless the law against “foreign influence” was repealed.
They called on “the Georgian authorities to make their intentions clear by changing the current course, which jeopardises Georgia’s path to the EU and de facto leads to a standstill in the accession process.”
In the times before the summit, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the Union was considering “ceasing our financial support to the government in Tbilisi” and cutting down political contacts. It was not clear how much money could be affected overall.
In a separate development, the United States earlier this month “indefinitely postponed” military exercises in Georgia – a move the U.S. Defense Department said got here as a part of a “comprehensive review” of relations between Washington and Tbilisi.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has long been at odds with the country’s government, described the EU and US moves on Tuesday as “very difficult messages from two of our closest friends” who’re “worth listening to.”
“Although this is a reaction to the stupid and hostile policies of the ruling party towards them, it is at the same time a warning to society: our partners tell us that ‘you have a choice’ between Georgia with a secure European future and a Georgia moving towards the Russian orbit,” Zurabishvili said.
