EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski has stated that the country’s EU accession process has been suspended. During an international conference in Tbilisi, he also noted that the EU has frozen 30 million euros intended to support Georgia's defense sector, Ekho Kavkaza reports.
According to Herczynski, direct aid to the Georgian government will be reduced and funds will be redirected to support civil society and the media. The decision came after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
The diplomat expressed hope that the EU will take steps towards expansion of the union within the next five years, but it is still unclear whether this will involve Georgia. Earlier, the Georgian parliament passed a Russian-style “foreign agent” law and a law on “LGBT propaganda” and family values in the first reading, provoking a negative reaction in the West.
In May, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a “comprehensive review” of bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Georgia over the “foreign influence” bill, which he called a tool to suppress democratic freedoms. In addition, the U.S. Imposed visa restrictions on those “responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia,” along with their family members.