Recent actions by Georgia’s ruling party “signal a shift towards authoritarianism”, stated Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission on October 14, during a press briefing held following the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting. He said the Council discussed Georgia and Moldova- two countries facing elections in the next few weeks.
“The ruling [Georgian Dream] party’s recent actions, statements and electoral promises take the country away from the European path and signal a shift towards authoritarianism. That is why the European Union accession process is de-facto halted,” noted Borrell, adding: “You know the decision taken by the [European] Commission from the point of view of access to European funding. Let’s wait for the upcoming Parliamentarian elections, which will be a crucial test for democracy in Georgia and its European Union path.”
He also stated that “Georgia is a bleaker picture” compared to Moldova, another aspiring EU member that awaits crucial elections this month. “Moldova is making significant progress on the European Union path despite increasing Russian intimidation. We see Russia is sparing no efforts to subvert the electoral process through hybrid attacks and widespread illegal vote buying. We commend the resilience of the Moldovan government in face of these unprecedented challenges, and we will continue to offer our support,” he emphasized.
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- 09/10/2024 – Sanction Ivanishvili, Freeze EU Funds, Assess Visa Liberalization Benchmarks – European Parliament’s Resolution on Georgia
- 09/10/2024 – Stano: EU Calls on Georgian Politicians to Avoid Harsh Rhetoric, Disinformation Against EU Ambassador
- 08/10/2024 – EP Debates on ‘Democratic Backsliding and Threats to Political Pluralism in Georgia’
- 08/10/2024 – Georgia to Lose 121 Million Euros in EU Aid Over Democratic Backsliding