Georgia on Thursday said it will suspend accession talks with the European Union until the end of 2028.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze from the nationalist Georgian Dream ruling party said Brussels’ demands for negotiations were a form of blackmail and said integration was a two-way process.
“In addition, we will not accept any budget support from the European Union until the end of 2028,” he said in Tbilisi, according to media reports.
Kobakhidze further criticized a European Parliament resolution that questioned the results of parliamentary elections in late October that saw Georgian Dream declared the victor.
The government’s move immediately brought thousands of demonstrators onto the streets of the capital Tbilisi. In the evening, they blocked the main street Rustaveli Prospekt near the parliament.
The country’s pro-European President Salome Zourabichvili accused the government of a “constitutional coup.”
“Today is the end of a path that began in Europe and leads to Russia,” she said, warning that Georgia will lose its independence to Russia.
Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova, was granted EU candidate status in December 2023, but its relationship with the bloc has deteriorated significantly in recent months.
While the opposition aims to maintain ties to Europe, the Georgian government passed a law restricting civil society groups that was similar to methods used in Russia. As a result, Brussels has put accession talks on hold.
The opposition remains committed to a pro-European stance, accusing the government of securing its election victory through manipulation.