EU threatens accession candidate Georgia with sanctions
Brussels
The EU is threatening Georgia, a candidate country for membership, with sanctions over violations of core European values.
Georgia's democratic backsliding will not go without consequences, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said following a meeting of bloc foreign ministers in Brussels.
'They have certain conditions they have to comply with,' she told reporters on Tuesday.
One possible option, she said, would be to suspend visa-free travel or the current EU-Georgia partnership
agreement.
Kallas urged the Georgian government to make changes by the end of August.
These include safeguarding the freedom of assembly and expression, respecting the right to privacy, and adhering to anti-discrimination laws.
Kallas stated that the EU does not wish to harm the Georgian population but emphasised that the credibility of the European Union is also at stake.
The criticism is primarily directed at the current ruling party, Georgian Dream, which has been accused of restrictions on independent media and non-governmental organizations.
Brussels also has concerns that Georgia is being influenced by Russia.
In response to the developments, the EU had already frozen Georgia's accession process last year.
Candidate status was granted to the country of 3.7 million people at the end of 2023, after it applied for EU membership shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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