Georgia will lose 121.3 million euros in EU aid as a result of democratic backsliding, according to the European Commission’s bilateral financial allocations for partner countries for 2022-2024.
According to the European Commission, these funds are being withheld or reallocated from Georgia “in reaction to backsliding on democratic standards, in particular following the adoption of the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence [Foreign Agents’ Law], targeting Georgian civil society and media.”
The withheld and reallocated funds are distributed by year as follows: 12 million euros in 2022, 72 million euros in 2023, and 37.3 million euros in 2024, totaling 121.3 million euros over three years.
The EU Delegation in Georgia clarifies that annual allocations are not all spent in the same year, “hence remaining funds from 2022 and 2023 directly benefiting the authorities will be lost.”
“Really sad that the democratic backsliding, hostile rhetoric and disinformation have lead to this. But Georgia can reverse this and return to the EU path. In line with the overwhelming desire of the Georgian people,” Nicholas Cendrowicz, Head of the Development and Cooperation Unit of the EU Delegation to Georgia, reacted to the EU Commission’s decision.
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