“What is surprising about the fact that even a year ago the European Union was negatively assessing Georgia’s progress? Do you really think the EU Ambassador would want to express such an important position and limit himself to one of the routine letters sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?” – said Giorgi Sharashidze, MP from For Georgia (Gakharia for Georgia), commenting on the information published by Rustavi 2 that “the European Union made the decision to suspend Georgia’s EU accession process five months before Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement.”

According to Sharashidze, the circulated letter should be seen as a general acknowledgment of Georgia’s democratic backsliding rather than as an officially confirmed fact.

He emphasized that the “Georgian Dream” government deliberately halted the country’s EU integration process.

“The EU integration process was deliberately suspended by ‘Georgian Dream.’ This is not only because they don’t want democracy in this country, but also because they don’t want Europe—because under European democratic conditions, they wouldn’t be able to maintain power. That’s the main problem, and that’s why ‘Georgian Dream’ is a regime that betrays the national interests of the Georgian people and the state.

What’s surprising about the fact that even a year ago the EU was assessing Georgia’s progress negatively? I don’t think that’s surprising at all. We can argue over wording, but in reality, I understood this letter as a general acknowledgment of Georgia’s regression, not as a confirmed fact. Do you really think the EU Ambassador would want to express such an important position and limit himself to one of the routine letters sent to the Foreign Ministry?” – Sharashidze said.

Speaking further on the topic, Sharashidze noted that the country’s democratic backsliding is not a development of the past year but a process that began five years ago, following Giorgi Gakharia’s resignation as Prime Minister.

“What difference does a statement make? Do you really think Kobakhidze’s statement of November 28 was made exactly on that date? There were many developments leading up to the decision. During the elections, ‘Georgian Dream’ promised the people a dignified path toward Europe—but what kind of path and dignity did we actually see? Everyone knows that.

Kobakhidze’s statement was simply confirmation of the direction that ‘Georgian Dream’ was already headed in. Whether the dates match exactly doesn’t really matter. Irakli Kobakhidze is, in this case, the de facto head of government, and his statement was naturally regarded as Georgia’s official confirmation of that course. Not because the position changed overnight. You’re focusing on the date, but I’m telling you that Kobakhidze’s statement only confirmed what ‘Georgian Dream’ had already been doing. Of course, the democratic regression didn’t start last year—it’s a process that began five years ago, after Giorgi Gakharia resigned as Prime Minister. That’s when the democratic backsliding began, along with the change in Georgia’s foreign policy direction. So what’s surprising about the fact that three or four years later Kobakhidze confirmed it?” – Sharashidze said.

For reference, Rustavi 2 reported that EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynski sent a letter on November 5, 2025, to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, stating that “Georgia’s participation in EU-funded regional programs in the fields of security and organized crime has been suspended.” According to Rustavi 2, Herczynski also wrote that “given the specific circumstances in Georgia and in accordance with the conclusions of the European Council of June 27, 2024, which led to the de facto suspension of Georgia’s EU accession process, Georgia’s participation in the following EU-funded regional projects in the areas of security and organized crime is suspended.”