After Georgia passed an unprecedented law which could undermine the rights of a free and independent media, the European Union has become strict over the South Caucasus country.
The EU has halted Georgia’s accession of the bloc and has frozen the financial assistance being provided to the country in order to show its resistance towards the law which was adopted by the Georgian government.
According to the Associated Press, the European Union leaders decided to halt the financial aid in the previous meeting of the European Council as the law was already passed and adopted by the Georgian administration.
The EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski, said, “This is only the first step, there will be other steps. Our direct support to the government of Georgia will be limited, and we will seek to redirect support from the government of Georgia to civil society and the media.”
Herczynski in a news conference said that a total of around $32.5 million in financial aid for the Defence Ministry of Georgia has been frozen in the immediate step.
According to AP, Herczynski further stated that “It is sad to see EU-Georgia relations at such a low point, when they could have been at an all-time high.”
As per the newly adopted law, the media, nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofit groups are required to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they have investments of over 20% from the foreign source.
The law faced a heated debate and criticism from the media and other organizations for having a potential to block the freedom of press and move in a direction of dictatorship.
The legislature was passed after a loggerhead with the Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who had vetoed the bill.
Speaker Shalva Papuashvili ensured that the bill was passed and adopted in the legislature dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party.