The European Union Foreign Affairs Council is underway in Luxembourg. Before the start of the meeting, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, made the statement about Georgia.

“We are going to discuss the situation in Georgia and one thing is clear: the door for Georgia to become a member of the European Union is open. But if the government continues on the same track, continues doing what they are doing, this door will be closed. And the Georgian people will pay the consequences, will suffer the fact that the European perspective will be diminished or even cancelled”, he said.

We are talking about serious things. If things continue like this, the door to the European Union will not be open. And today, I [will] present an option paper to the ministers, explaining the different things that we can do in the short and medium term in order to make this not to continue in Georgia. Today is an indicative debate, I will put on the table a complete analysis of what we can do, and the ministers will discuss it. So don’t expect concrete decisions today.

But in the short term there are measures that can be taken, such as ending support through the European Peace Facility, cutting off high-level political contacts, stopping part of the funding that goes directly to the government. We do not want to affect civilians. We do not want to put more pain on the civilian people, but there are decisions - and they are listed - and at the end of the day, I can tell you what has been the reaction of ministers to my proposals”, - said Josep Borrell.