PoliticsPolice violence in Georgia: EU sanctions fail due to veto
SDA
17.12.2024 - 00:17
Police block off a street to prevent demonstrators from holding a rally in front of parliament. The demonstrators are protesting against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on accession to the European Union and accuse Georgian Dream of manipulating the vote. Photo: Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP/dpa
Keystone
Hungary and Slovakia are blocking plans for sanctions in the EU over the violence against pro-European demonstrators in Georgia.
Keystone-SDA
17.12.2024, 00:17
SDA
Following an EU meeting in Brussels, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó justified the move by claiming that the EU was taking sides with the protesters. Georgia was only being targeted because a patriotic and conservative party had won the recent elections instead of liberal forces, he claimed.
The proposal to ban several people responsible for police violence from entering the EU and to order the freezing of assets that may be held in the EU had previously been on the table. It has now failed for the time being. However, the plan to revoke the right of Georgians with diplomatic or official passports to enter the EU without a visa until further notice is still being pursued.
EU Commission now to make proposal on visa regime
According to Foreign Affairs Commissioner Kaja Kallas, the EU Commission will present an official proposal on the subject by the end of the year. It would only require a majority vote to be adopted and not a unanimous decision as is the case with sanctions.
In the EU, a large majority of member states believe that the Georgian authorities have recently used unlawful violence and arbitrary arrests against demonstrators and opposition leaders. The reason for their ongoing protests are indications of possible irregularities in the recent parliamentary elections and the announcement by the ruling Georgian Dream party that it intends to put the EU accession process on hold until 2028. Critics fear that this also has to do with Russia's influence.
Austria's foreign minister calls for dialog
On Monday evening, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg called for not burning all bridges for this very reason. "I think it would be a geostrategic mistake to push this country back now," he told journalists. We must remain in dialog. A majority in Georgia still wanted to join the EU.
Schallenberg also made it clear that Austria would probably not follow the example of Lithuania and Estonia. The two EU states had recently imposed national sanctions against Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other leading politicians.