EU Commissioner Marta Kos: 'We can revoke visa-free travel, but it would hurt Georgian people'
EU Commissioner on Georgia’s visa-free travel
The European Union may revoke Georgia’s visa liberalisation, but it would be the Georgian people who suffer as a result. This was stated by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. According to her, Brussels is also considering freezing Georgia’s EU candidate status and reviewing the trade agreement (DCFTA) as potential responses to the country’s democratic backsliding.
Marta Kots:
“There are many options [for response measures], but in this situation we are being very cautious in making decisions. For example, we could revoke visa liberalisation, but that would primarily hurt the people.
We also have the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement with Georgia, which could be reviewed. In addition, Georgia still holds its EU candidate status — we could freeze it, as happened in the case of Turkey.
So, these are the existing options. I don’t like it when governments disregard their people. The Georgian people have a strong desire to follow the European path, and we will continue to work towards that.
I cannot accept losing Georgia, even if its government continues to pass laws that clearly contradict European values.
We tried to impose sanctions, but it proved impossible because unanimity among member states could not be achieved. Some member states introduced sanctions against specific individuals individually. That’s how this mechanism works.”
Sanctions against officials and supporters of Georgian Dream were imposed by the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), as well as Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany. Outside the European Union, financial sanctions were introduced by the United Kingdom and the United States.
EU Commissioner on Georgia’s visa-free travel
