TBILISI -- The European Union says it has halted Georgia's accession process and frozen 30 million euros in assistance to its Defense Ministry after the country's lawmakers approved controversial legislation seen as a measure to crack down on dissent.
European Union Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski told reporters in Tbilisi during an event on July 9 that the bloc was considering further measures if the situation in the country "further deteriorates."
Herczynski described the move as a response of the controversial "foreign agents" law, known as the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, and recent anti-democratic steps taken by the former Soviet republic's government.
"The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence is a clear backslide on nine steps, and the anti-Western, anti-European rhetoric is fully incompatible with the stated aim of joining the European Union," Herczynski said, adding that the decision to halt Georgia's EU accession process had been made on June 27.
Herczynski said he hopes Tbilisi will reconsider some of its recent decisions after a new government is formed following parliamentary elections in October.
"I sincerely hope that on October 26, Georgians will make the right choice and the future government, whoever wins the elections, will return very quickly and resume hard work towards Georgia's accession to the European Union," Herczynski stressed.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called the EU's move "a response" to the "anti-European and anti-Western rhetoric and actions" by the government and the ruling Georgian Dream party.
"While this is a response to the ruling party's foolish and hostile policy towards [the EU], at the same time it is a warning to the public: our partners tell us that 'the choice is yours' -- either Georgia gets a secure European future or moves into an isolated Russian orbit," Zurabishvili said.
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On May 28, lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party overrode Zurabishvili's veto, further propelling the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence toward enactment.
Dubbed "the Russian law" by Georgian protesters for its similarities to a law in Russia that has helped the Kremlin jail, fine, and marginalize dissent, EU officials have warned it will "negatively impact Georgia's EU path."
Meanwhile, Washington has announced visa bans and a "comprehensive review" of bilateral relations, and other international critics have decried the law as "weaponized transparency."
Last week, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had indefinitely postponed the planned Noble Partner military exercises with Georgia, which Tbilisi has been hosting since 2016, as part of the review of the policy of relations with Georgia.
The U.S. Defense Department said the decision was made, due "to the Georgian government's false accusations against the United States and other western entities, to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and of participating in two coup attempts against the ruling party."