– Georgia’s accession process “de facto” at a standstill
EU leaders have announced that Georgia’s accession process has been halted after it passed laws deemed contrary to European values.
Published today at 02:21
The adoption of these laws sparked massive demonstrations in Tbilisi for weeks and strong criticism from Western countries.
AFP
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Georgia’s EU accession process has come to a “de facto” halt after Tbilisi adopted Russian-inspired laws deemed contrary to European values, the leaders of the Twenty-Seven said at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
The European heads of state and government “call on the Georgian authorities to clarify their intentions by reversing the current course of their actions, which jeopardizes the (country’s) path towards the EU, leading de facto to a halt in the accession process” to the EU, according to the summit conclusions.
“Foreign influence”
Georgia, which obtained the status of candidate country to join the EU in December, passed a series of laws deemed contrary to European values. The Georgian authorities notably promulgated on June 3 a text on “foreign influence”, inspired by a repressive Russian law, which sparked massive demonstrations in Tbilisi for weeks and strong criticism from Western countries.
On Thursday, the Georgian Parliament passed at first reading a bill banning “LGBT propaganda”, very similar to legislation used in Russia to repress sexual minorities. The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell had already warned Georgia on Monday that the door to the EU could close if it did not change its policy.
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