Zurabishvili criticizes government for rejecting EU's help

The Georgian government's refusal to accept the financial help offered by the European Union (EU) in the amount of 75 million euros will affect citizens' well-being and the country's reputation, Georgian President, Salome Zurabishvili, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 31, Irakli Garibashvili, the Georgian Prime Minister, stated that country's authorities decided to refrain from receiving 75 million euros from the EU, explaining that Georgia has begun to reduce its foreign debt, and, therefore, there is no need to borrow more money. The Georgian authorities' refusal to get EU's financial support, which was offered in exchange for reforms, including in the judicial system, threatens to cause imbalance in relations with the West, Georgian analysts believe.

The refusal from the EU's loan will lead to a weakening of the European community's interest in the country and the region, as well as contribute to external and internal forces wishing to destabilize the situation in the country, Ms Zurabishvili said on September 2.

She expressed her bewilderment about the fact that in such a crisis period and amid the situation that "the economic growth has no effect on people's welfare," the authorities' priority is to reduce the foreign debt.

"There's no issue of borrowing loans or not. The main point is our reputation and reliability of our word. Authorities have every right to reject a loan, but at the same time, recalling the signature to the document (the government's agreement with the opposition) will affect the tomorrow country's rating and foreign investors' attitude," President Zurabishvili has stressed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 3, 2021 at 02:34 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.