Georgian Foreign Ministry on Monday met with the representatives of diplomatic missions of the EU member states in Georgia, as well as of the EU delegation in Tbilisi to present the implementation of the 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy which outlines 9 steps to be taken by Georgia.

Following the meeting, Asunción Sánchez Ruiz, the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia, said: “What we recalled at the meeting is the [EU] Council conclusions that were adopted by 27 members of the European Union on 27th of June where European Union expressed its concerns regarding the latest developments in Georgia. In particular, [that] the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence means the backsliding in Georgia’s accession path, jeopardizing EU candidate status. And as the [EU] leaders stated they called on the authorities to reverse the trend,  which de-facto leads to a halt in the EU accession process for Georgia.”

The Deputy Head went on to say that the MFA “recalled the intention of the Government to be a member of the European Union by 2030, to which we responded that currently, as the leaders agreed on the 27 of June, the relations are de-facto halted on the EU accession path.”

According to Ms. Sanchez Ruiz, diplomats expressed the hope that the upcoming parliamentary elections “will be free, fair and competitive”, noting the EU will be watching closely.

The EU diplomat added, “the European Union is really side by side with Georgian people, who have expressed their willingness to join the European Union.”