EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday that Brussels has proposed a sanctions list against Georgian officials responsible for the violent crackdown on pro-Western protesters, but that the measures are likely to be opposed by Hungary.
“We have proposed the list for sanctions against individuals using excessive force and violence against the opposition,” Kallas said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “But consensus is required, and we have not reached that point yet.”
Events in Georgia have taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, with authorities cracking down hard on pro-EU demonstrations in response to the government’s decision to hit the pause button on its bid to join the European Union. Turmoil mounted after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in disputed parliamentary elections in October and announced a four-year delay in EU membership talks.
Riot police have fired tear gas and water cannons at overwhelmingly peaceful protesters, who fear that Georgian Dream is leading the country back into Russia’s orbit. Brussels has expressed “credible concerns” over reports of torture and called for the “immediate release” of over 400 detainees arrested in conjunction with the protests.
Despite a significant number of EU member states calling for more, Hungary’s nationalist leader, Viktor Orban, an outspoken ally of Georgia’s government, has opposed the so-far proposed sanctions against Tbilisi.
The EU has already frozen some of its support for the Georgian government and signaled in June that Georgia’s bid to join the bloc had been effectively put on ice after the country enacted laws similar to Kremlin-style restrictions on NGOs. The EU is also weighing possible curbs on holders of Georgian diplomatic passports, though consensus on the largely symbolic measure has yet to be reached.
