TBILISI, July 9. /TASS/. Leaders of EU member countries decided to freeze 30 million euros that was meant to be provided to Georgia to reinforce the country's defense capabilities, said Pawel Herczynski, EU Ambassador to Georgia.
"Speaking about defense and security cooperation, unfortunately, I have to inform you that EU leaders have also decided to freeze the money that was allocated to support the Georgian Defense Forces as part of the European Peace Facility. By this time, the money that we planned to transfer to the Defense Ministry, 30 million euros, has been frozen," he said at an international conference in Tbilisi.
According to the diplomat, this is only the first step the EU has taken since the adoption of the law on foreign agents in Georgia.
"Our direct [financial] support to the Georgian government will decrease and we will try to shift this direct support to civil society and the media," Herczynski said.
The diplomat also said Georgia's EU membership process had been suspended.
"I am sorry to say that (EU leaders - TASS) have agreed to suspend Georgia's EU membership process. This is clearly stated in the reports of the European Council," he said. The ambassador said it is unclear whether Georgia will be included in the next wave of EU enlargement.
Earlier, the EU threatened Georgia with suspension of its bid to join the EU because of the law on foreign agents. Also, top EU Josep Borrell said EU doors will be closed to Georgia if its government continued its current course. According to the official, Brussels is ready to strip Tbilisi of European funding and supplies through the European Peace Facility if the law on foreign agents is not repealed.
The Georgian legislature passed the bill, officially titled On Transparency of Foreign Influence, on May 14. That prompted sharp criticism from the EU and the US. President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the law on May 18 but the legislature overrode the veto on May 28. Non-governmental groups vowed not to register as foreign agents if the law was passed, as they did not believe it was fair to carry the badge of organizations pursuing foreign interests. The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party said the definition should rightly apply if they receive funding from abroad, and the only requirement is to be transparent about the financing.