Of course, I am trying to talk to the authorities, - said the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski.

When asked whether he has contact with the Georgian authorities, Herczynski replied that "as the EU Ambassador to Georgia, it is his duty to have open channels of communication with everyone".

"Of course, I am trying to talk to the authorities. We are also in contact with the opposition, with civil society... This is clear from the enlargement report published by the European Commission exactly a week ago. As for Georgia's aspirations for EU membership, the report is devastating. The report clearly states that Georgia is now further away from the EU than it was two years ago, when it was granted candidate status. It is up to the Georgian authorities to change course and return to the path of European integration", - said Herczynski.

The ambassador also responded to a question regarding the Georgian government's statement that "the European Union stopped Georgia's EU accession process."

“It was the Georgian government that decided to apply for membership in the European Union in March 2022. It was the European Union that granted Georgia the status of candidate country in December 2023. It is Georgia’s business to make decisions about its own legislation. It can have any law it wants. But it is my role and that of the European Union to tell Georgians which laws are not in line with the European Union. It was in the spring of 2024 that we said clearly and loudly not to adopt the law on foreign agents, because there would be consequences. Indeed, in June 2024, after the Georgian Parliament adopted this law, the European Council decided to de facto suspend Georgia’s accession process and asked the Georgian government to change course. I am pleased and I think it is positive that finally some Georgian parliamentarians discovered the conclusions of the European Council of June 2024, but they have not addressed the problem. It means that it took them 18 months to realize that their actions would have consequences,” the ambassador noted.

“The June 2024 European Council conclusions were the first wake-up call,” he said.

“Last week, there was an enlargement report, which is probably the final wake-up call. The report was devastating. I hope that it will take Georgian parliamentarians less than 18 months to study this and act, because if Georgia and the Georgian government are serious about joining the EU, they need to change course immediately and get back on the path of EU integration,” Herczynski said.