Georgia intends to join the bloc as an equal partner and not as a beggar, the prime minister has said
Georgia has decided to freeze accession talks with the EU until 2028, when it expects to be ready for further steps, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told a news briefing on Thursday.
Tbilisi will continue to fulfil its existing obligations under the Association Agenda with the EU, but will do so on its own as it wants to be treated as an equal partner in relations with Brussels, he said.
The decision was announced following a government meeting with the Georgian Dream Party, which retained its majority in parliament following the October election.
“We are a self-respecting nation with a great history… it is absolutely unacceptable for us to consider integration into the European Union as a favor that the European Union should give us,” Kobakhidze said.
Georgia will still strive to join the EU in 2030, the prime minister said. Tbilisi expects to be “economically prepared” to enter the negotiations with Brussels by 2028, he explained.
Tbilisi will continue to abide by its Free Trade Agreement with the EU, and expects to have fulfilled more than 90% its obligations under the Association Agenda by 2028, Kobakhidze added.
Georgia seeks to rely on its own resources while continuing on its EU path, and will not accept any EU financial aid until 2028, the prime minister stated.
“We will continue our march towards the European Union, but we will not allow anyone to leave us in a state of constant blackmail and manipulation, which is… offensive to our country and society,” he said.
The South Caucasus nation has for years aspired to join the European Union. Relations between Tbilisi and Brussels nevertheless remain strained due to several laws which have been recently adopted by Georgia. One of them is the ‘foreign agents’ law adopted in May, which requires entities and individuals that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “promoting the interests of a foreign power.”
Another is a ban LGBTQ propaganda. Brussels had previously repeatedly warned that the legislation could get in the way of the country’s EU integration. Earlier this month, the Georgian Dream party’s executive secretary, Mamuka Mdinaradze, stated that the nation would “never repeal the law,” even if it delays accession to the bloc for “two or three years.”
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