Tbilisi (GBC) -Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, on Tuesday said the bloc had frozen €30 million in support for the country from the European Peace Facility in response to the adoption of the law on transparency of foreign influence by the Georgian Government earlier this year.
Herczyński said the EU was considering other measures “if the situation further deteriorates”.
“I sincerely hope that on October 26, Georgians will make the right choice and the future government, whoever wins the elections, will return very quickly and resume hard work towards Georgia’s accession to the European Union. But for now, as leaders decided on June 27, Georgia’s EU membership is on hold at a time when other candidate countries, some in the Western Balkans, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, are moving forward quickly”, Herczyński said.
“It is sad to see EU-Georgia relations at such a low point, when they could have been at an all-time high”, he continued.
The official further added sanctions were among possible measures, but added there was no agreement or unanimity between the bloc’s member states to introduce further measures against Georgian officials.
Herczyński noted the future Government of Georgia should “decide its policy” towards the European Union.
“The Georgian people must choose their future Government and the future Government of Georgia must decide its policy towards the European Union. As the European Union, we are here for Georgia and Georgians”, he said.
The diplomat added an enlargement report would be published for all candidate countries in October, with EU leaders deciding on next steps in December.