By Canadian Press

Georgia suspends talks on joining the EU for 4 years, accusing the bloc of ‘blackmail’

Nov 28, 2024 | 8:44 AM

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia is suspending talks on its bid to join the European Union for four years, its prime minister said Thursday, in view of what he described as “blackmail and manipulation” from some of the bloc’s politicians.

The statement by Irakli Kobakhize came hours after he was reappointed to the job by members of the governing Georgian Dream party after its disputed victory in last month’s parliamentary election that has sparked protests and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.

The Oct. 26 election was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit, and declared a boycott of parliament.

European election observers said the balloting took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

The EU has previously announced that the talks on Georgia’s accession to the bloc had been de-facto halted because of its backsliding on democracy.

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In Thursday’s statement, Kobakhidze said that while the country will pursue its bid to join the EU, “it will not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028.”

“Additionally, we are rejecting any budgetary grants from the European Union until the end of 2028,” he added.

Earlier Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s Georgian parliamentary vote for being neither free nor fair, representing yet another manifestation of the continued democratic backsliding of the country “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible.”

EU lawmakers urged a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.

“We will continue on our path toward the European Union; however, we will not allow anyone to keep us in a constant state of blackmail and manipulation, which is utterly disrespectful to our country and society,” Kobakhidze said. “We must clearly show certain European politicians and bureaucrats, who are completely devoid of European values, that they must speak to Georgia with dignity, not through blackmail and insults.”

The Georgian prime minister denounced what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians, charging that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.”

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

Speaking in parliament earlier tin the day, Kobakhidze described last month’s parliamentary vote as “also a referendum between immoral propaganda and traditional values, and our society chose traditional values.”

The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

President Salome Zourabichvili, whose six-year term expires next month, has rejected the official results and refused to recognize the parliament’s legitimacy. Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote, but Georgia has approved constitutional changes that abolished the direct election of the president and replaced it with a vote by a 300-seat electoral college consisting of members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.

On Wednesday, the ruling party nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former national team and Premier League player, for the mostly ceremonial presidential post. He is all but certain to win the Dec. 14 vote by the electoral college controlled by the ruling party.

Sophiko Megrelidze, The Associated Press