The ball is in the court of the Georgian regime. A course correction by Georgian Dream that involves distancing itself from Moscow and embracing an EU-compatible agenda seems unlikely and until the authorities make a clear shift in this direction, political relations with the ruling party must be downgraded, - David McAllister, Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with InterPressNews.

He spoke about the EU’s suspension of financial aid to Georgia.

“The resolution adopted by the European Parliament on November 28 2024 provides a clear roadmap: the ball is in the court of the Georgian regime. A course correction by Georgian Dream that involves distancing itself from Moscow and embracing an EU-compatible agenda seems unlikely. Until the authorities make a clear shift in this direction, political relations with the ruling party must be downgraded. Georgia's EU accession process has been practically frozen since the so-called "transparency law" was adopted. The €121 million indirect financial aid earmarked for Georgia have been suspended. Additionally, the EU Foreign Affairs Council has frozen support for Georgia from the European Peace Facility -amounting to €30 million in 2024. In line with this action taken by the European Union, all financial support and strategic partnerships with the Georgian Dream regime must be suspended to prevent further democratic backsliding. The frozen €120 million, initially intended as direct EU support for the Georgian government, must instead be redirected to benefit civil society -particularly the non-governmental sector and independent media. The goal must be to protect the remaining spaces of freedom from which genuine resistance to authoritarian practices can emerge. Ultimately, democratic change needs to come from the people themselves. The European Parliament has been clear that we want leading individuals in Georgia to be sanctioned because of their malignant activities.

We call on the Georgian authorities for the elections and organize them in a free and fair manner. We call for all political prisoners to be released. We call on the Georgian authorities to stop putting people into prison who are innocent”, he said.