The EU is studying retaliation against Georgia for its authoritarian leanings after it promoted controversial Russian-inspired legislation International

The authoritarian tilt of the Georgian government – which, despite international protests and criticism, has approved a Russian-inspired foreign agent law – threatens to have consequences beyond stalling EU accession talks. Foreign ministers of the Union’s 27 member states are studying ways to paralyze the financing of projects that have an impact on ordinary authorities…

The authoritarian tilt of the Georgian government – ​​which, despite international protests and criticism, has approved the Russian-inspired Foreign Agent Law – threatens to have consequences beyond stalling EU accession talks. Foreign ministers of the Union’s 27 member states are studying ways to paralyse funding of projects that have an impact on Georgian authorities, cooperation programmes (such as the one it hopes to withdraw). Roaming) with the Caucasian country and sending money to the military in the wake of “negative developments in the country”, according to a confidential document prepared by the European Union’s External Action Service (EEAS), to which EL PAÍS has had access.

The controversial transparency law on foreign influence puts at risk projects that receive funding from abroad: from agricultural cooperatives to women’s associations and organizations defending human rights. The rule, which will come into force in August, has sparked weeks of mass demonstrations despite intimidation, threats and physical attacks against civil society representatives, political leaders and journalists, according to the European document, which proposes a series of options to put pressure on the Georgian government.

Georgia has been a candidate country to join the EU since last February. In Brussels, there is great concern about their position and the actions of the government, which some see as a ploy to push the Caucasian country away from the European path and maintain the umbrella of Russian influence. It is not only about the so-called law on foreign agents – similar to the Russian law, which has also inspired legislative reform in Hungary, a wayward partner of the club – but also other “worrying” measures, as seen in Brussels, taken in recent months. These include the promulgation of a package of laws on “family values ​​and the protection of minors”, similar to constitutional amendments to prohibit “LGBTIQ propaganda”; the abolition of electoral gender quotas by parliament; amendments to the Electoral Code to change the unanimous consent of the Central Election Commission; or measures affecting the independence of the National Bank of Georgia, says the EEAS.

The EU expresses concern over the record of Poland and Hungary, which have maintained authoritarian tendencies for years, which have earned them punishment from Brussels. Despite everything, Warsaw has redirected this drift with the departure of the ultra-conservative government of Law and Justice (PiS). With that experience, the EU is not willing to allow that path in a candidate country. Hence, the battery of measures that the heads of diplomacy of the twenty-seventh will debate at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 24th.

On the one hand, funds allocated for programs managed by the authorities have been frozen and economic packages are being sent for non-lethal materials and training of Georgian security forces through the European Fund for Peace. Other “short-term” options are also added, such as suspending high-level meetings by both the EU and member states. “These measures can be lifted once the law is repealed, and provided that the EU’s concerns about democratic backsliding are adequately addressed and clear public messages are given,” the EEAS document states.

Twenty-Seven also analyzes measures in case of “further deterioration” due to “the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators, threats of violence, or irregularities in the electoral process”. Among them, they propose suspending Georgia’s participation in negotiations at the political level until the situation improves or even recommend that countries impose a requirement for temporary Schengen visas for holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports.

The EU is talking about the possibility of suspending the visa-free entry regime to the EU for nine months if the situation worsens further. But he warned that this measure, although it could be a “powerful lever” for Georgia to reconsider the foreign agent law, could have an immediate impact on the Georgian population.

“Entry restrictions for individuals and Member States’ commitment not to grant visa exemptions to holders of diplomatic or service passports should be focused on,” the EEAS says, and there is a need to enhance public messaging and campaigns against disinformation.

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