Georgia suspends EU accession negotiations until the end of 2028

Georgia said on Thursday it will suspend accession talks with the European Union until the end of 2028.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the nationalist ruling party Georgian Dream said Brussels’ demands for negotiations were a form of blackmail and that integration was a two-way process.

“In addition, we will not accept any budget support from the European Union until the end of 2028,” he said in Tbilisi, according to media reports.

Kobakhidze further criticized a European Parliament resolution questioning the outcome of the parliamentary elections at the end of October, in which Georgian Dream was declared the winner.

The government’s decision immediately brought thousands of protesters onto the streets of the capital Tbilisi. In the evening they blocked the main street Rustaveli Prospekt, near the parliament.

The country’s pro-European president, Salome Zourabichvili, accused the government of a “constitutional coup.”

“Today is the end of a path that started in Europe and leads to Russia,” she said, warning that Georgia will lose its independence to Russia.

Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova, was granted EU candidate status in December 2023, but relations with the bloc have deteriorated significantly in recent months.

As the opposition seeks to maintain ties with Europe, the Georgian government has passed a law restricting civil society groups, similar to methods used in Russia. As a result, Brussels suspended accession negotiations.

The opposition continues to maintain a pro-European stance and accuses the government of securing its election victory through manipulation.