"Today, Georgia's EU membership is suspended, and EU-Georgia relations are at their lowest point ever. I do not want to end on this negative note and would like to express the hope that Georgia will return to a democratic trajectory and that its EU membership process will resume," said the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński, in his welcoming speech to the media representatives attending the meeting.

The ambassador also expressed hope that the injured journalists would recover soon and that such appalling attacks would not be repeated.

"I am very grateful for this meeting during these challenging times. Over the past weeks, we have all witnessed violent and appalling attacks against you and your colleagues. I sincerely hope that those injured, your colleagues, will recover quickly, and such horrible attacks will not happen again. Those responsible for this terrible crime should be punished as soon as possible.

I have always tried to be available and answer all journalists' questions, but today I am here to express my solidarity for the horrific treatment you, as journalists and media managers, have been subjected to in recent weeks.

I could never have imagined that we would be witnesses to such brutal treatment of the media on the anniversary of granting Georgia candidate status (December 14, 2023).

I am grateful for the hosting of this meeting by the Ethics Charter. When the EU (together with the Council of Europe) established the Ethics Charter in 2009, its goal was to promote European standards, quality, professionalism, and ethics in Georgian journalism. Based on the principles of the Charter, we established the EU Journalism Prize 13 years ago to further encourage standards and support media quality and professionalism.

Over the years, we believed that the priority need for the media was to develop standards. Unfortunately, today we see that these priorities have fundamentally changed. Currently, the priority is the physical protection of journalists from beating, physical and verbal aggression, intimidation, persecution, improper treatment, and even torture – a worrying term used in the statements of the Public Defender. We cannot ignore this.

The European Union funds several media development projects, and many of you may be beneficiaries of these projects. Due to the treatment of the media by the authorities, some projects had to adapt their activities to provide training on physical and psychological protection. In light of these unforgivable events, I welcome the resilience and courage you, as citizens and journalists, have shown. Your work is the force that must be properly appreciated. As foreign diplomats, we highly value and rely on your work, which helps us navigate through difficult events. You also raise each of our voices when it is most needed.

In every statement and at every level, the European Union consistently condemns actions aimed at silencing the media and interfering with its professional duties. You will have heard the statement made by the EU’s top representative / Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, the day before yesterday, that "democracies do not stifle opposition voices and do not restrict media freedom." That is why, despite recent developments, our unwavering support for free and independent media in Georgia remains a priority. You will also see that the European Union will halt funding to the Georgian government. However, we will continue and further increase our support for civil society and independent media.

At last year’s "EU Journalism Prize" awards ceremony, I urged the media to have more and better communication on the enlargement process and what it meant for Georgia. Today, Georgia’s EU membership has been suspended, and EU-Georgia relations are at their lowest point ever, due to a series of undemocratic decisions made by the Georgian Parliament and government. It is important that you continue your work and inform the public.

I do not want to end on this negative note, and I want to express the hope that Georgia will return to a democratic trajectory and resume its EU membership process.

I know that each of you is committed to this trajectory; you have proven this with your dedication and sacrifice to the journalistic profession. Thank you all for that,” said Paweł Herczyński to the journalists.