“The EU calls on the Georgian authorities to uphold their reform commitments, including in the justice sector, in the interest of Georgian citizens and of the future of EU-Georgia relations. The EU will continue to closely monitor the situation,” said EU Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Julien Crampes.

According to Julien Crampes, macro-financial assistance of EUR 150 million in total, half out of which has been disbursed, was aimed at assisting Georgia and its citizens in addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said these funds were intended to be available for the benefit of the Georgian people. The EU Representation respects the decision of the Georgian government to refrain from requesting the rest of the EU macro-financial assistance. However, it notes that it failed to meet the conditions for financial aid, especially in terms of the judicial system.

“While we respect the decision of Georgian authorities, at the same time, we note that Georgia failed to sufficiently address the condition for this macro-financial assistance, and notably, to increase the independence, accountability and quality of the judicial system. In particular, the selection for Supreme Court judges proceeded in the absence of legislative changes needed to ensure full compliance with all recommendations made by the Venice Commission. The process also failed to guarantee equal treatment of all candidates. Several further legal changes aimed at increasing transparency of the court system have not been adopted. The justice-related conditions of the macro-financial assistance were also commitments taken by Georgian political parties when signing the 19 April 2021 Agreement, mediated by the European Union,” said Julien Crampes.

Crampes claimed that the European Union would continue to monitor the situation in Georgia. The EU is committed to supporting Georgia’s reform, though the EU’s assistance to Georgia remains conditional on progress on key reforms, he claimed.

“The EU calls on the Georgian authorities to uphold their reform commitments, including in the justice sector, in the interest of Georgian citizens and of the future of EU-Georgia relations. The EU will continue to closely monitor the situation,” EU Chargé d’Affaires ad interim noted.