EU leaders have stated that Georgia's accession process to the EU has been de facto halted due to the adopted law on "foreign agents." The law is a deviation from the European Commission's recommendations to grant Georgia candidate status in the European Union. This is stated in the conclusions of the European Council of June 27 following the summit of EU leaders in Brussels, UNN reports.
The European Council expresses serious concern about the recent developments in Georgia. In particular, the adopted law on transparency of foreign influence represents a departure from the steps set out in the Commission's recommendation on candidate status The European Council calls on the Georgian authorities to clarify their intentions and reverse the current course of action, which jeopardizes Georgia's path to the EU, de facto bringing the accession process to a standstill
The document calls for an end to the increasingly frequent intimidation, threats and physical attacks on civil society representatives, political leaders, civic activists and journalists in Georgia.
In addition, the summit declaration states that the Georgian authorities must ensure that this fall's parliamentary elections are free and fair. To this end , the EU calls for substantial long-term and short-term election observation.
Addendum
According to the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, if the country's authorities "continue on the same path," the door to Georgia's accession to the European Union will be closed.