MEP: 'Georgia does not deserve EU candidate status'
“There will be calls for targeted sanctions, and we hope that no one will block them, as Orban has done. In Georgia, the rule of Georgian Dream has replaced the rule of law. This is not a country that deserves candidate status,” Czech MEP Markéta Gregorová told the InterpressNews agency.
According to Gregorová, the European Union is considering the future of visa liberalisation with Georgia because of what she described as democratic backsliding and an increasingly repressive political environment in the country.
Markéta Gregorová: “Next week, we will hold a plenary session in Strasbourg, where the annual report on Georgia will be presented. The resolutions were adopted some time ago, but this report assesses developments in Georgia over the past year.
Although the text is not yet final and amendments are still possible, I can already say that it takes a highly critical view of democratic backsliding in Georgia. Repression has intensified, particularly against non-governmental organisations.
There are now virtually no NGOs left that comment on political issues.
The situation for independent media is extremely difficult. Many outlets have also had to leave the country. This is not a democratic country — we all know that. Nor is it a country that, in any way, deserves candidate status for membership of the European Union. In the European Union, we have the rule of law. In Georgia, however, the rule of Georgian Dream has replaced the rule of law.”.
“Of course, there will be calls for targeted sanctions, particularly against those who used violence against peaceful demonstrators. Now that the government in Hungary has changed, we hope that no one will block sanctions as Orban did. That would allow us to move forward and help the citizens of Georgia, at least in this respect.
The report is certainly not directed against the people of Georgia. It concerns the Georgian government and what we regard as its repressive policies. Unfortunately, Georgian citizens will also have to live with the consequences of these developments, including measures such as the withdrawal of candidate status.
But this is not about them. Georgian citizens earned candidate status. The European Union would not be taking it away from them, but from the regime.”
MEP Gregorová on Georgia
