“Sanctions are very difficult for the European Union because they require unanimity/ negotiations between 27 capitals are ongoing, and I sincerely hope that all member states will agree to sanction those responsible for blatant human rights violations,” stated the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski.
Herczyński emphasized the EU’s commitment to action under its new leadership.
“As I already informed you, next week there will be three very important events in Brussels. On Monday, we will have the Foreign Affairs Council, ministers will discuss Georgia. Then there will be a General Affairs Council, European Ministers will discuss Georgia. Then at the very end of the week, there will be European Council and European leaders will discuss the situation in Georgia. What does it mean? It means that as the European Union, we are really concerned with the events. With the new leadership of EU institutions, there is really a commitment to stop talking and to start action.
Unfortunately, as I have told you loud and clear, this requires member states to play along. As we speak, there are very intensive negotiations ongoing in Brussels and between capitals in order to agree on different measures,” he declared.
The EU Ambassador stated that all options are on the table, including suspending the visa-free regime for certain passport holders.
“I sincerely hope that 27 member states will be in a position to agree to concrete measures. There is still time. The negotiations are very intensive. So we have to wait till Monday. All the options are on the table, including the issue of the suspension of a visa-free regime for certain passport holders and, first and foremost, sanctions. Sanctions are very difficult for the European Union because they require unanimity.
Again, negotiations between 27 capitals are ongoing, and I sincerely hope that all member states will agree to sanction those responsible for blatant human rights violations. It’s really heartbreaking to see what is going on on the streets of Tbilisi and other cities.
As the European Union, we have condemned this violence against peaceful protesters, media representatives, and politicians. This should stop immediately, and those who are responsible for those human rights violations should be punished,” he added.
