Tbilisi Asserts EU, Not Georgia, Halted Membership Talks Last Year

A prominent lawmaker in Tbilisi asserts that a recently disclosed letter from the EU ambassador confirms the bloc suspended Georgia's involvement in several EU-funded programs months before Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's controversial remarks about halting the country's EU accession bid.

The background is a decision, announced in November, 2024, by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, that Tbilisi would freeze membership talks until the end of 2028, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

Among Georgia’s Western partners, the decision was seen as an attempt to sabotage the country’s accession process to the EU, a goal which is enshrined in the constitution and has relatively broad popular support.

Vice Speaker of Parliament Nino Tsilosani said Thursday that the letter, dated November 5 and signed by EU ambassador Pawel Herczynski, proves that Brussels, not Tbilisi, paused the membership talks.

According to the letter, cited by the government-friendly television channel Rustavi 2, the EU suspended Georgia’s involvement in regional security and organized-crime cooperation programs due to “the specific circumstances in Georgia” and the European Council’s June 27, 2024 conclusions, which, according to the vice speaker, was what halted the country’s accession process.

Tsilosani criticized protesters who have accused the ruling Georgian Dream government of sabotaging the country’s EU integration and called on them to “apologize for unjustly blaming” the authorities.