EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński met with First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgi Zurabashvili, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia reported.
According to the EU Delegation, the meeting aimed to convey the EU’s serious concerns regarding the recently submitted package of amendments to the Law on Grants and related legislation.
“On 11 February 2026, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński requested a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. He was received on 12 February by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Mr. George Zurabashvili.
The purpose of the meeting was to convey European Union’s serious concerns regarding the recently tabled package of amendments to the Law on Grants and related legislative acts. As adopted in first reading, the proposed amendments would represent another significant threat to civic space and political participation in Georgia. The Ambassador underlined that such measures are incompatible with Georgia’s commitments under the EU–Georgia Association Agreement and run counter to the commitments sovereignly taken by Georgia as a candidate country for EU membership.
Ambassador Herczyński noted that, if adopted, the amendments could directly and adversely affect the work of diplomatic missions operating in Georgia, in contradiction with the provisions and principles of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Georgian side also raised the issue of EU sanctions. Ambassador Herczyński informed that the 20th package of sanctions against Russia was proposed by the European Commission on 6 February and is currently discussed between EU Member States.
Both sides agreed to remain in contact on upcoming developments,” the EU Delegation said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the First Deputy Minister explained Georgia’s position concerning the implementation of restrictive measures imposed by the European Union against the Russian Federation, as well as the country’s efforts to prevent and disrupt instances of sanctions circumvention. The Foreign Ministry statement said nothing about the Grant Law and the concerns conveyed by Herczynski.
George Zurabashvili provided the EU side with comprehensive information on the measures undertaken by the Georgian authorities and the efforts of state institutions in monitoring cargo and vessel movements within Georgia, identifying sanctioned entities, uncovering international activities linked to the so-called “shadow fleet,” and ensuring compliance with restrictive measures imposed by international financial institutions. The First Deputy Minister emphasized that information on the Georgian side’s efforts, proactively undertaken measures and identified cases is regularly communicated to international partners, primarily to the relevant institutions of the European Union, in the form of reports.
George Zurabashvili stressed that media reports suggesting the possible inclusion of the Kulevi Port on the European Union’s sanctions list are entirely baseless, unfounded, and lacking any factual support, as there have been no recorded instances of sanctioned vessels being received and/or sanctions being circumvented at the port. The First Deputy Minister further noted that EU institutions have raised no questions or concerns regarding the port’s operations.
At the meeting, the Georgian side expressed the hope that EU institutions and member states will take into account the objective facts and Georgia’s extensive efforts to ensure compliance with restrictive measures, as well as to prevent and disrupt attempts to circumvent sanctions, and that they will not, through the imposition of restrictions, undermine the strategic Caspian-Black Sea-Europe Corridor or the EU’s Middle Corridor initiative, of which the Kulevi Port is an integral part.
