TBILISI, November 8 – Brussels on Friday accused the Georgian government of spreading disinformation after a leaked letter from the European Union’s ambassador to Tbilisi appeared to confirm that Georgia’s participation in several EU-funded programs had been suspended before Tbilisi paused accession talks.
Speaking Friday at a press briefing in Brussels, Anita Hipper, the European Commission’s spokesperson for foreign and security affairs, said the Georgian authorities were attempting to divert attention from the facts.
Hipper said Brussels has grown accustomed to “informational propaganda” from the Georgian government and pointed out that the EU had already documented Georgia’s democratic backsliding in multiple reports since mid-2024.
According to Hipper, the June 2024 Commission assessment had served as an “initial wake-up call” for Georgian leaders to change course.
Instead, she said, we have seen an escalation of government actions including the prosecution of opposition leaders, arrests of journalists, and attacks on peaceful protesters.
The latest enlargement report, she added, confirms that “Georgia remains a candidate country in name only.”
The controversy erupted earlier this week after the television channel Rustavi 2 published a letter sent on November 5 by EU ambassador Pawel Herczynski to the Georgian Foreign Ministry.
The letter informed Tbilisi that Georgia’s participation in regional EU-funded programs focused on security and organized crime had been suspended “in light of the specific circumstances in Georgia” and the European Council’s June 2024 conclusions that effectively halted the accession process.
Parliament’s vice speaker Nino Tsilosani earlier claimed the letter supported the ruling Georgian Dream party’s position that it was Brussels, not the Georgian government, that paused the membership process.
