European leaders have warned Georgia that its progress towards accession has de facto stopped, due to newly adopted in the country's law on non-governmental organizations receiving funding from abroad, DPA and Agence France Presse reported, quoted by BTA, referring to the closing statement of the meeting.
According to the newly adopted rules, independent media and other civil society organizations must register as "foreign agents" and provide information to the state if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
The law on non-governmental organizations "represents a step backwards" to the requirements for Georgia's accession to the bloc, EU leaders said.
The statement called on Georgian authorities to abandon "the current course of action, which threatens Georgia's path to the EU and de facto halts the accession process.
Georgia is an official candidate for EU membership from December 2023
Mass protests in Georgia and the intervention of the EU and the US, which oppose the law, have not changed the position of the government in Tbilisi. Opponents of the law, which took effect earlier this month, believe it will be used to silence organizations critical of the government, similar to what happened in Russia.
The ruling party "Georgian Dream" justified the law as contributing to greater transparency and strengthening of Georgian sovereignty.
So far, the EU has discussed a number of measures in response to the events in Georgia, including freezing high-level meetings and channeling EU funding directly to NGOs in the country.
There are also concerns about the support of the Georgian public, which remains staunchly pro-European. "The main focus is to send a strong message to the Georgian government and to show support to the Georgian people," an EU diplomat said last night, quoted by DPA.