Coordination between political forces defending their fragile democracies in Europe is now deemed essential.Continue reading
The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have reportedly vetoed planned European Union sanctions against officials close to the newly reelected Georgian government, reported Euronews. The government in Budapest sees the proposal as a partisan intervention by a left-wing European majority into the affairs of a sovereign government and the denial of the will of the Georgian people.
The sanction package proposed by Estonia’s Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was meant to target high ranking police officers and ministers of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s Georgian Dream party. The winner of the October elections is accused of election manipulation and suppression of protests in the small country of 3.7 million mostly by foreign-funded NGOs and opposition groups. However, on the other side of the political spectrum, there are voices that accuse the EU leadership of trying to undermine a democratically elected government on an ideological basis, and are sponsoring a Maidan-style coup in order to undermine the Kobakhidze government.
During a meeting in Brussels on Monday, the representatives of the Hungarian and Slovak governments reportedly blocked the proposed sanctions. Kaja Kallas has commented on her failed initiative, saying “it is my first Hungarian veto but I can guarantee it is not the last. With sanctions, we need 27 on board. So therefore we are, unfortunately, not there. But I think the (suspension) of the visa-free regime is the first step and is also symbolic.”
The EU High Representative was referring to the Monday decision imposing visa restrictions on some Georgian diplomats and government officials.
Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár justified the Slovak veto against Georgian representatives by saying that “Slovakia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states. We uphold democratic principles, including free and fair elections. Therefore, it is essential to respect the will of the Georgian people as expressed in their elections. The European integration path lies fully within the competence of the Georgian government. We all share the goal of ensuring that Georgia stays on its path toward EU membership. In this regard, we emphasize the importance of maintaining dialogue and open channels of communication, avoiding rushed decisions. For this reason, Slovakia has not supported sanctions against selected police officials. The Georgian government must respect the freedoms of assembly and speech. We strongly condemn the violence during the protests, which must be thoroughly investigated.”
Minister Juraj Blanár: #Slovensko nezasahuje do vnútorných záležitostí iných štátov. Podporujeme demokratické princípy a jeden z týchto princípov sú slobodné demokratické voľby. A preto je potrebné rešpektovať vôľu občanov v gruzínskych voľbách. Eurointegračná cesta je plne v… pic.twitter.com/f82uuzQNAt
— Slovakia MFA (@SlovakiaMFA) December 16, 2024
The Hungarian Foreign Minister on his part stated that “Georgia is under external pressure because a patriotic, conservative party won the election and the liberal elite in Brussels cannot digest it. They go as far as wanting to put certain Georgian government members and officials on the sanctions list. We will not allow this, we will stand by our Georgian friends and call on all to respect to respect the sovereignty of the Georgian people and the will of the Georgian people as expressed in democratic elections,” wrote Péter Szijjártó in his Facebook post.
Featured Image: Alain ROLLAND, EP