Georgia delays EU talks and rejects grants until 2028

Georgia's ruling party said that the country would suspend talks on European Union accession until 2028, while also refusing budgetary grants from Brussels, effectively halting its application to join the bloc, a long-standing national goal.

In response, thousands of pro-EU protesters blocked streets in the capital, while the country's figurehead president accused the government of declaring "war" on its own people with the move.

The Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of "a cascade of insults," saying in a statement it was using the prospect of accession talks to "blackmail" the country, and to "organize a revolution in the country."

As a result, it said: "We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028."

The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has traditionally been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union's successor states.

Georgia's relations with Brussels have deteriorated sharply in recent months, amid EU allegations of authoritarianism and pro-Russian tendencies. The EU has already said that Georgia's application is frozen.

Georgian Dream says it is not pro-Russian, and that it is committed to democracy and integration with the West.

It says it still wants to join the EU eventually, but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years, whilst deepening ties with neighboring Russia. There was no immediate formal comment from the EU on Georgian Dream's statement. But an EU official said the impact of move was huge, adding the government was doing what the EU had feared and had hoped it would not.

Opinion polls show that around 80% of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc's flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country.