TBILISI, April 27. /TASS/. Brussels’ recent statements and steps undermine relations between Georgia and the European Union and encourage radicalism in the country, the Georgian foreign ministry said, commenting on EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynski’s remarks that the country is moving towards returning to a "dark past."
"Brussels’ current policy toward Georgia - its steps and statements - shatter trust between the sides and harm the Georgia-EU partnership. Regrettably, Brussels’ actions can be assessed as further polarizing Georgian society and promoting a radical agenda," the ministry said.
Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maka Bochorishvili, who spoke with the European diplomat, noted that the country’s authorities always express their openness to a constructive dialogue and expect a fair and respectful attitude from the European Union, the ministry added.
Herczynski told journalists earlier that the European Union cannot "not let Georgia and the wonderful, warm, hospitable Georgian people go back to dark times of violence, civil war, poverty, deprivation, corruption." Georgia’s authorities interpreted these remarks as a threat to the country’s population.
After the Georgian parliament passed a law on the transparency of foreign influence in May 2024, the country’s relations with the European Union and the United States began worsening. The European Union repeatedly called on Georgia to revoke this law but the leaders of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party have been insisting that the law is meant to ensure the transparency of sources of financing of non-governmental organizations operating in the country, with some of them trying to instigate a revolution in the country.
The Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party won the presidential elections on October 26, 2024, taking 89 seats in the 150-seat parliament. In late November 2024, the party made a decision to suspend until 2028 any discussions with the European Union of the issue of the country’s potential EU membership bid and refuse from all budget grants from the European Union.