Georgia to suspend EU accession talks until 2028

PM announces suspension aft the European Parliament adopted a solution rejecting the results of Georgia’s election.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says Georgia volition suspend talks connected European Union accession for 4 years and accused Brussels of “blackmail”.

The announcement connected Thursday came hours aft the European Parliament adopted a non-binding solution rejecting the results of Georgia’s October 26 parliamentary elections owed to “significant irregularities”.

The solution called for caller elections to beryllium held wrong a twelvemonth nether planetary supervision and for sanctions to beryllium imposed connected apical Georgian officials, including Kobakhidze.

Accusing the European Parliament and “some European politicians” of “blackmail,” Kobakhidze said: “We person decided not to bring up the contented of joining the European Union connected the docket until the extremity of 2028.”

But helium pledged to proceed implementing the indispensable reforms, asserting that “by 2028, Georgia volition beryllium much prepared than immoderate different campaigner state to unfastened accession talks with Brussels and go a subordinate authorities successful 2030.”

There was nary contiguous remark from Brussels.

The South Caucasus state of 3.7 cardinal has the extremity of EU accession written into its constitution, but relations with Brussels person deteriorated sharply successful caller months. The EU has antecedently said that Georgia’s exertion is frozen.

Georgia gained EU campaigner presumption successful December 2023 but the EU has said that a bid of laws passed by the governing Georgian Dream enactment since, including curbs connected “foreign agents” and LGBTQ rights, are authoritarian, Russian-inspired, and obstacles to EU membership.

‘Significant irregularities’

Western countries person besides said that past month’s election, successful which authoritative results gave the Georgian Dream bloc astir 54 percent of the vote, was marred by violations. However, its occurrence has led to boycotts by absorption parties, who telephone the results of the ballot a sham.

The European Parliament connected Thursday urged Georgia to telephone caller elections aft the ballot was spoiled by “significant irregularities”.

Lawmakers successful Strasbourg adopted the solution blaming the Georgian Dream enactment for holding elections that were not escaped oregon fair.

They besides rejected immoderate designation of the result, slamming “numerous and serious” electoral violations, including elector intimidation and ballot manipulation.

The solution besides urged the EU to authorisation respective Georgian Dream officials, including Kobakhidze, Tbilisi Mayor and ex-footballer Kakha Kaladze, and erstwhile Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

In Georgia’s parliament, absorption lawmakers began a boycott of this week’s caller league aft alleging that Georgian Dream won owed to fraud.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili has declared the ballot “unconstitutional” and wants to annul the results done the Constitutional Court.

Following the election, a radical of Georgia’s predetermination monitors said they had grounds of a analyzable strategy of large-scale electoral fraud favouring Georgian Dream.

Georgia Dream has denied each allegations of elector fraud.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies