On October 19, the German Foreign Ministry announced that it recalled Ernst Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to Georgia, for consultations following accusations of interference made by the Georgian authorities. In its statement, the ministry emphasized that "for many months, the Georgian leadership has been engaged in harassment against the European Union, as well as against the German ambassador personally." It added that the decision to recall Fischer was made "to discuss further steps." The German Foreign Ministry also stated that the European Union Foreign Affairs Council would "address the Georgia issue" on October 20.