EU Threatens Georgia with Denial of Membership Status

The European Union has warned Georgia about its candidate status for membership if the country's authorities do not abandon the foreign agents law, according to the magazine "Foreign Policy." An EU official mentioned to the magazine that "if the draft law is not withdrawn, the European Commission will inform the Georgian government that it will withdraw the candidate status for membership." Peter Stano, the EU's foreign policy spokesman, noted that "the European Commission sees the protests in Georgia against the foreign agents law as a support for European values and the country's European future." It is reported that the Georgian parliament approved the "foreign agents" draft law in a general session with a majority vote in the third and final reading. According to the government, the new law aims to push organizations to show greater transparency regarding foreign funding. The adoption of this law has provoked harsh statements from the EU, including threats to suspend Georgia's integration into the EU.