Georgia refuses to take the EU loan ‘to decrease its foreign debt’

The Georgian government has decided not to receive the second tranche of macro-financial assistance from the EU in 2021 to decrease the country’s foreign debt which currently stands at more than 31 billion GEL. 

 

Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili stated earlier today that the ‘economic growth’ will allow the government to start covering the foreign debt.

 

“I will remind the public that this is a loan, part of which we took in 2020. 75 million euros was the second part of the loan, which was not a grant and assistance,” Garibashvili said. 

 

Earlier this month European Council President Charles Michel made links between Georgia’s reform agenda and the EU’s financial aid. 

 

He has stated that receiving financial assistance from the EU would be dependent on how the country would implement the reforms written in the EU-mediated April 2021 agreement. 

 

The ruling party, which earlier signed the agreement, backed out of it in July 2021. However, the party and the government promised the implementation of all reforms drafted in the deal.