EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said after Hungary's veto of the sanctions bill against Georgian authorities that it was Hungary's “first veto” and, as she expected, not the last. The proposal of sanctions against Georgia was also rejected by the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico. He emphasized that the European Union should participate in maintaining the agreement with Ukraine on gas transit.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Defense Kaja Kallas has tried to impose sanctions on members of the ruling Georgian Dream party in connection with the crackdown on the opposition and the brutal crackdown on protests. Demonstrations in this country began at the end of November, when the authorities announced that they would suspend negotiations on Georgia's membership in the European Union until 2028.
As Radoslaw Sikorski, head of Polish diplomacy, said after the meeting, not only Hungary, which recognized the victory of Georgian Dream in the parliamentary elections despite the reported fraud, but also Slovakia opposed the sanctions. Unanimous consent of all member states is necessary for the adoption of sanctions.
Head of EU foreign policy Kaya Callasolivier Mattis/PAP/EPA
– This is the first veto in Hungary, but I guarantee that it will not be the last, – Kaya Kallas said. But he emphasized that he is optimistic about this matter. He added that he was looking for alternative solutions to override the veto.
One of them is the abolition of visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic passports. Approval of such a decision requires a majority (consent of 15 out of 27 countries of the European Union). The European Commission may soon make such a proposal.
Prime Minister Fico does not agree to sanctions against Georgia
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also rejected the proposal of sanctions against Georgia in a conversation with the head of the European Council, Antonio Costa. The Prime Minister's Office of Fico wrote in a statement: “We insist on a realistic assessment of the current situation in Georgia. Any consideration of interference in Georgia's internal affairs by imposing sanctions is a red line for us.”
The prime minister of Slovakia allegedly said in a conversation with Antonio Costa that he wants to raise the issue of double standards in assessing the state of the rule of law in member states at the level of the European Union.
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico Martin DIVISEK/PAP/EPA
According to Fico, “the report of the Venice Commission is alarming”, drawing attention to the serious ongoing problems in Slovakia and Hungary, which threaten the effective fight against corruption, the independence of the media and the functioning of civil society.
FICO also supported the participation of the EU in efforts to protect the transit of Russian natural gas through the territory of Ukraine. Kyiv has already indicated that it does not intend to extend the contract, which expires at the end of this year. Fico stated that “protection of transit routes is not only a bilateral issue between neighboring countries with Ukraine, but an issue of the entire European Union.”
Main photo: OLIVIER MATTHYS/PAP/EPA
