Marta Kos: EU to support civil society organizations, independent media with 8.5 million Euro already reallocated
“The situation in Georgia, on the other hand, is a stark reminder that the path to EU membership is not easy and that setbacks can happen and they do happen. I deeply regret the authorities continue to shift away from the EU integration,” said Marta Kos, Commissioner for Enlargement addressing the Foreign Relations Committee in the European Parliament.
“The Georgian people’s choice for European integration was embedded in a constitutional commitment, and they are taking to the streets night after night because they clearly wish to keep it. The action of the authorities against peaceful protestors, opposition representatives, civil society organizations and journalists are entirely unacceptable.
The Commission has already withheld more than 100 million Euro of funding directly benefiting the Georgian authorities, and we are looking into further reallocations. We have also proposed to partially suspend the EU-Georgia visa facilitation agreement so we can introduce visa requirements for holders of diplomatic service passports issued by Georgia. EU member states will vote on the proposal by the end of January,” she said.
According to Marta Kos, the European Union will continue to support civil society organizations and independent media.
“At the same time, we continue to stand, I’m still speaking about Georgia, behind civil society organizations and independent media. 8.5 million Euro have already been reallocated to them. We are also ready to reallocate an additional 7 million Euro to communication activities, and we need to step up response to disinformation spread by the Georgian Dream’s leadership,” she said.