EU urges Georgia's government to stick with democratic path to EU membership
The so-called "Russian law" risks jeopardizing Georgia's ambition to join the European Union. 12 member states have asked the EU to clarify whether the law will lead to the potential suspension of membership talks.
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00:00The EU is urging the Georgian government to stick to the path of democratic reform if
00:05it's to join the European Union. Several MEPs have called on the EU's foreign policy chief
00:09Josep Borrell to impose sanctions against the Georgian government, while Georgians have
00:14taken to the streets protesting against the so-called agents of foreign influence law,
00:18which is widely seen as a Kremlin-style legislation aimed at stifling free speech.
00:23Georgia after all is a candidate country, and again we hope, we expect and we call on
00:29authorities to go back to the European path and deliver on all the commitments they took
00:33upon themselves voluntarily when they applied for the candidate status for their country.
00:39The European Commission has also condemned Tbilisi for using brutal force against opposition
00:44politicians and journalists. The position of the Georgian government, led by the Georgian
00:48Dream Party, risks setting the country backwards away from its stated ambition of EU membership.
00:54Twelve member states have asked the EU to clarify whether the law will lead to the potential
00:58suspension of membership talks.
01:07So I think it's now time for the EU to say enough of these double games. You can't be
01:13part of the accession process and at the same time introducing legislation which is completely
01:19at odds with Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, completely at odds with the undertakings
01:26that the Georgian government has given to the European Commission.
01:30The scenes in Tbilisi today echoed those in Maidan in 2014, when Ukraine was poised to
01:35move closer to the European Union. Georgia was awarded candidate status for the EU in
01:39November last year, to much jubilant scenes. But critics say this law is straight out of
01:44the Kremlin playbook, where the government will be able to go after anyone who opposes
01:48it, including journalists, politicians or anyone advocating for civil rights.
01:53Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.
01:56Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.