Georgia Freezes EU Membership Talks, Accuses Bloc of “Blackmail”

On Thursday, Georgia froze its EU membership talks for four years, accusing the European Union of “blackmail,” as reported by the Associated Press.

The European Parliament condemned Georgia’s parliamentary elections, held in late October, for failing to meet international standards. In a resolution adopted on Thursday, it called for a reorganization of the elections within a year.

A significant majority, 444 votes, supported the resolution, while 72 voted against it, and 82 abstained, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Members of the European Parliament criticized “numerous and serious electoral violations” reported during the October 26 elections.

The elections resulted in a victory for the ruling Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, which the opposition accuses of pursuing authoritarian and pro-Russian policies.

The MEPs highlighted confirmed cases of “intimidation, vote manipulation, and fraud,” rejecting any recognition of the election results, which they described as a “manifestation of ongoing democratic backsliding” for which the ruling party is entirely responsible.

Pro-Western opposition parties and Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili rejected the election results.

President Zourabichvili, an opponent of the Georgian Dream party, filed a constitutional appeal to annul the results, calling the new parliament “unconstitutional.”

On Thursday, the European Parliament urged the EU to impose “personal sanctions” on Georgian leaders, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Tbilisi Mayor and Georgian Dream Secretary General Kakha Kaladze, and Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

The European Parliament also expressed support for President Zourabichvili, commending her efforts to “restore the country’s democratic trajectory.”