This decision follows the recent European Council meeting on June 27, where EU leaders also froze a 30-million-euro (32.46-million-U.S.-dollar) support package for Georgia from the European Peace Facility for 2024.

In a statement, the European Council urged Georgian authorities to clarify their intentions and reverse actions that jeopardize Georgia's EU path, effectively halting the accession process. "The European Council calls on Georgia's authorities to clarify their intentions by reversing the current course of action which jeopardizes Georgia's EU path, de facto leading to a halt of the accession process," read a document adopted at the meeting.

The suspension comes in response to Georgia's recent adoption of the law on "Transparency on Foreign Influence," which Herczynski described as "a step backwards." The law mandates that media and non-governmental organizations receiving over 20 percent of their funding from abroad must register as "organizations acting in the interest of a foreign power."

The controversial law was passed by the Georgian parliament on May 14 and subsequently vetoed by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili. However, on May 28, the parliament overrode the veto and enacted the legislation.

Georgia applied for EU membership in March 2022 and was granted candidate status in December 2023. The recent developments have cast doubt on the country's future integration with the EU, pending significant policy reversals by Georgian authorities. (ILKHA)