Germany’s foreign minister said Thursday that the European Union should consider formally suspending Georgia’s accession process due to the bloc’s hostile approach to the bloc by the Russia-friendly ruling party and the country’s democratic backsliding.
“With its anti-European turn, the Georgian Dream party has deliberately put on ice and effectively suspended Georgia’s EU accession process,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.
“In the EU we must now also discuss a formal suspension of Georgia’s accession process due to the increasingly authoritarian policies of the Georgian Dream.”
Baerbock said the granting of EU candidate status in December 2023 was “linked to clear promises of reform”.
“But instead of progress, we are seeing alarming regression,” she continued, pointing to the brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-European protesters that has been taking place for weeks in the capital Tbilisi and other locations.
Germany suspends millions in aid
The Georgian Dream party also seriously endangers Georgia’s decades-long partnership with Germany, Baerbock said.
As a result of recent events, the German Foreign Ministry has scaled back cooperation with the country and suspended aid projects worth more than €200 million ($208 million).
Germany is also discussing further measures with its EU partners – according to Baerbock, these range “from repealing visa-free travel for Georgian decision-makers to targeted sanctions.”
Deepening crisis
The pro-Western opposition is questioning the declared victory of the Georgian Dream party in the parliamentary elections at the end of October and is angry about its decision to effectively halt accession negotiations with the country.
Demonstrations have repeatedly been violently dispersed, activists have been detained and opposition politicians and media representatives have been attacked.
Several countries have already imposed sanctions on the leaders of Georgia, long considered a close ally of the European Union and NATO.
