On July 9, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili reacted to the EU’s apparent decision to freeze EUR 30 million European Peace Facility aid to Georgia against the backdrop of the foreign agents law and the recent anti-democratic actions taken by the Georgian authorities.
“We should remember that in 2014, when the European Union could not find in its member states those willing to participate in the military mission in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA), Georgia (with the decision of the “Georgian Dream” government) sent 150 soldiers, saving this mission of the European Union from failure,” Papuashvili wrote on Facebook, adding that Georgia was the only non-member country “in this very difficult operation,” with the second largest contingent after France.
Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, currently in Washington to attend the NATO summit, said, “Such micro-decisions are incomprehensible to us because the challenges in terms of security, including the occupation, have not disappeared.” He noted that these decisions will not be able to hinder Georgia’s aspirations for EU integration.
In this context, he stressed that Georgia needs to strengthen its defense capabilities “even more” and expressed hope that such decisions will be reversed to the “previous point.” He emphasized that relations between Georgia and the EU are based on the Association Agreement, adding that “we have all made our commitments and we are consistently … fulfilling these commitments, and I would not give such a harsh assessment as the EU Ambassador did”.
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