“Georgia’s Foreign Agents Registration Act is a serious setback for the country’s democracy,” reads the joint statement of High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission Kaia Kallas and the Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Marta Cos.

According to the statement, the EU stands ready to consider Georgia’s return to the EU path if the authorities take credible steps to reverse the democratic backsliding.

“Georgia’s Foreign Agents Registration Act is a serious setback for the country’s democracy. Together with the recent Broadcasting and Grants Laws, the adoption of this law is yet another aggressive move by the Georgian government to suppress dissent, curtail freedoms, and further narrow the space for activists, civil society, and independent media.

These repressive measures threaten the continued existence of Georgia’s democratic foundations and the future of its citizens in a free and open society.

In its decisions of June and October 2024, the European Council determined that such a course of action posed a threat to Georgia’s path towards the European Union. The accession process has been de facto suspended.

The EU once again calls on the Georgian authorities to heed the clear demands of its citizens for democracy and a European future and to release all unjustly detained journalists, activists, protesters and political leaders.

The EU stands ready to consider Georgia’s return to the EU path if the authorities take credible steps to reverse the democratic backsliding. The responsibility lies solely with the Georgian authorities,” reads the statement.