Georgia’s accession to the European Union has been halted, and a few of the bloc’s monetary help to the South Caucasus nation has been frozen after the Georgian authorities adopted a brand new legislation that critics feared would curb democratic freedoms, the EU Ambassador in Georgia stated Tuesday.
In response to Pawel Herczynski, EU leaders made the choice to halt the method in the course of the final summit of the European Council, and it got here within the wake of the Georgian authorities adopting the legislation on “foreign influence” regardless of weeks of protests.
As well as, a complete of 30 million euros ($32.5 million) in monetary help, earmarked for Georgia’s Protection Ministry in 2024, has been frozen, Herczynski stated at a information convention.
“This is only the first step, there will be other steps. Our direct support to the government of Georgia will be limited, and we will seek to redirect support from the government of Georgia to civil society and the media,” he stated. “It is sad to see EU-Georgia relations at such a low point, when they could have been at an all-time high.”
The legislation, which got here into impact final month regardless of mass protests and a veto from the nation’s president, requires media, nongovernmental organizations and different nonprofit teams to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” in the event that they obtain greater than 20% of their funding from overseas.
The opposition has denounced the invoice as “the Russian law” as a result of Moscow makes use of related laws to stigmatize unbiased information media, organizations and people crucial of the Kremlin, and referred to as its passage an indication of neighboring Russia’s maintain over Georgia.
EU officers have repeatedly denounced the legislation as undemocratic and stated it might hinder Georgia’s path to EU membership.
The bloc agreed to grant membership candidate standing to Georgia in December provided that it combat disinformation, together with in opposition to the EU, convey its overseas and safety insurance policies into line with the bloc’s, and introduce new justice reforms, amongst different measures.
Membership talks didn’t get underway. To start out talks with a candidate, the 27 EU nations and that nation should agree on a negotiating mandate. EU specialists should additionally conduct a screening process, to research how a lot work must be carried out to convey Georgia’s legal guidelines and requirements into line with these of the bloc.
As soon as these preconditions have been met, an intergovernmental convention could be referred to as with Georgia to formally launch the beginning of talks. Every step requires unanimous settlement from the EU member nations and will be blocked at any level.
At a summit on June 27, EU leaders warned Georgia that its path towards membership could be blocked until the “foreign influence” legislation was repealed.
They referred to as “on Georgia’s authorities to clarify their intentions by reversing the current course of action which jeopardizes Georgia’s EU path, de facto leading to a halt of the accession process.”
Within the days earlier than the summit, EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell stated the bloc was contemplating “putting a hold to our financial assistance to the government” in Tbilisi and downgrading political contacts. It was not clear how a lot cash total could be affected.
In a separate improvement, the USA earlier this month “indefinitely postponed” army drills in Georgia — a transfer the U.S. Division of Protection stated got here as a part of a “comprehensive review” of the relations between Washington and Tbilisi.
Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili, who has lengthy been at odds with the nation’s authorities, on Tuesday referred to as the strikes by the EU and the U.S. “very difficult messages from two of our closest friends” that “are worth listening to.”
“Although this is a response to the stupid and hostile policies of the ruling party towards them, at the same time it is a warning to society: our partners tell us that ‘the choice is yours’ between Georgia with a secure European future and Georgia moving toward the Russian orbit,” Zourabichvili stated.
