Germany is reviewing its relations with Georgia, the German ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, said in a conversation with journalists.
"Today we have an event organized by the German civil society, where the enlargement of the European Union is being discussed. Three members of the German parliament are present here, and this is a very important topic for Georgia, because Georgia is a candidate for EU membership, but we have reached a very difficult moment in this process, in this accession process. As you know, based on the actions of the Georgian government, the European Council, which consists of 27 heads of state and government, decision-makers on enlargement, decided on June 27 to suspend the accession process with Georgia. The accession process of Georgia has been halted. Now this is the policy of the European Union and it is very sad, because everything could have been completely different, we have been moved forward very quickly, we want to move forward, but the speed and quality of the accession process is in the hands of the candidate.
As for Germany, we are also reviewing our relations with Georgia. As you know, we have a very broad and deep relationship. Together with the United States of America, we are one of the largest donors of development cooperation in Georgia. We have decided not to make new commitments to Georgia at the moment, therefore there are no new financial commitments from Germany to Georgia at the moment. Also, the German armed forces canceled their participation in the Noble Partner exercises. We canceled the big legal forum that was held in Tbilisi last year and was supposed to be held in Berlin this summer. We are considering further actions," said Peter Fischer.
According to him, Georgians should think about how important it is for them to join the European Union.
"To sum up, the process of joining the European Union is suspended. This is very sad, we should be in a much better position, we should move forward, and I appeal to our Georgian friends: we want you to join the European Union, but you know the process. You must meet our standards and if you do not, then you will not be able to join. So, Georgian citizens and Georgian friends should think about how important the European Union is for you, your children, your grandchildren. If you want that, you have to get back to our course," said Peter Fischer.
For information, an international conference - EU Enlargement - A Geopolitical Necessity and the Next Steps for the EU Candidate States is being held in Tbilisi. The event was opened by the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Peter Fischer. Representatives of the Associated Trio and the civil society of the Western Balkans, as well as members of the German Bundestag, are participating in the conference.
The aim of the conference is to lay the foundation for a platform that the candidate countries of the European Union can use effectively their opportunities on their way to join the European Union. Within the framework of the conference, German and Georgian politicians will talk about the next steps of the candidate countries on the way to join the European Union.
