Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Tuesday Georgia's EU accession process has been stopped, in comments before the General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting in Luxembourg.

The official welcomed the accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, which are officially starting today with intergovernmental conferences scheduled in Luxembourg. He also provided an assessment of the previous day's meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers.

"Yesterday was a good day, and today too. The only thing is that I am very worried about Georgia. More than 80 percent of the Georgian people want to join the European Union, but the government is going in the wrong direction," Tsahkna said.

He said Estonia, “traditionally a strong advocate for EU enlargement”, was celebrating a “historic day" as it began accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. "We are officially starting accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. This is a truly historic day for Estonia. We joined the EU 20 years ago, and the enlargement process is a strategic and natural part of our existential question, as we cannot have gray areas around the EU. It is important that we continue the process of enlargement with the countries of the Western Balkans," Tsahkna explained.

The current situation in Georgia was discussed on Monday by the EU foreign ministers. Following the meeting, EU High Representative Josep Borrell mentioned that one unnamed country (likely Hungary) opposed sanctions on the Georgian authorities. Nevertheless, Borrell emphasized that unanimity among the 27 member states was not required for decisions such as reducing political communication with the Georgian government, cutting financial support, and reviewing funding from the European Peace Fund.

"It may happen immediately. However, we will continue to monitor the situation and will take additional measures if it worsens," Borrell said.