Georgia on a slippery roadEU freezes $32 million in defense funds for Georgia, h…

Brussels has frozen 30 million euros ($32 million) in defense sector funding for Georgia after halting its EU accession process in June, EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski said on July 9.

EU granted candidate status to Georgia at the end of 2023, but relations with Tbilisi deteriorated after Georgia’s parliament passed a “foreign agents” law despite mass protests and a veto by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili.

The law mirrors repressive russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics, leading Washington and Brussels to denounce the bill as incompatible with democratic values.

The European Council sated on June 27 that the law represents a back-sliding on the steps set out for Georgia’s candidate status, “de facto leading to a halt of the accession process.”

The EU has now frozen its support for Georgia from the European Peace Facility (EPF), “which amounts to 30 million euros ($32 million) for 2024,” Herczynski announced. “Other measures are being considered if the situation further deteriorates,” adding that “it is sad to see EU-Georgia relations at such a low point, when they could have been at an all-time high.”

The EPF assists in funding security and defense to EU partners, including Moldova, North Macedonia, and the African Union.

Upd. “This is a response to the anti-European and anti-Western rhetoric and actions of the government, to the stupid and hostile policies of the ruling party,” Georgian President Zurabishvili commented on the suspension of the country’s integration into the EU.

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