The Swedish Government has announced the suspension of direct partnership with Georgian officials, citing issues regarding democratic decline as the primary reason. Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa mentioned the alarming state of Georgia’s recent political direction, emphasizing reports of irregularities during the parliamentary elections.
“The development in Georgia has been very alarming for some time. The irregularities reported by international election observers in the weekend’s parliamentary elections reinforce this,” Dousa said.
While Sweden halts support for the Georgian government, 25 million kronor, part of Sweden’s annual aid of 200 million, will be allocated to help Georgia’s civil society. Cooperation with government agencies like Georgia’s tax authority may resume if Georgia returns to the EU path.
