Georgia suspends application to apply to join EU as lawmakers claim election was rigged | DW News

Now to Georgia, and political tensions there after the country's disputed parliamentary election. Many newly elected lawmakers boycotted the first sitting of parliament earlier this week. They say last month's vote was rigged in favor of the ruling, pro-Russian, Georgian Dream party. Critics of the government fear the result could derail Georgia's hopes of joining the EU.

Also, Georgia's Moscow-leaning prime minister says his country is suspending its application process for the European Union until 2028. Pro-European protesters gathered outside the Georgian Dream Party's headquarters in the capital Tbilisi soon after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhize made the statement. It came just hours after he was reappointed to the job of Prime minister by members of his party, after its disputed victory in last month's parliamentary election. Kobakhidze said Brussels' demands for membership amounted to what he called a 'rejection of Georgia's dignity'.

For its part, the EU already suspended Georgia’s application process indefinitely in June after parliament passed a law requiring organizations with foreign funding to register as 'pursuing the interest of a foreign power'.