Georgia not on EU Council's list of favourites
On Tuesday, December 17, the EU Council published a report on enlargement, which Brussels considers a strategic priority in light of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The report reaffirms the full and unconditional commitment of Ukraine, Moldova and six candidate countries in the Western Balkans to European integration. It is noteworthy that Georgia and Turkey were mentioned in the text, but were not included in the list of "favourites".
The Council of the European Union strongly condemned the use of violence by the Georgian authorities against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and media representatives during the dispersal of protests. The report stresses that "all acts of violence must be investigated and those responsible brought to justice." In addition, the EU Council urges official Tbilisi to investigate and eliminate the violations of the voting procedure recorded during the parliamentary elections, as well as to take measures to overcome the growing polarization, including refraining from anti-European rhetoric and disinformation.
Brussels also noted the regression of the Georgian judicial system, the growing deficit of independent institutions in the country and the contradiction of its legislation with European values. The Council of the European Union calls on Georgia to return to the path of European integration and democracy by following the nine steps recommended by the European Commission.
Recall that on December 16, a meeting of EU diplomats was held to discuss the issue of introducing sanctions against the Georgian government. Radio Tbilisi reports, citing its correspondent in Brussels, that only two countries opposed the introduction of targeted sanctions against the Georgian authorities - Hungary and Slovakia.
Against the backdrop of the total condemnation of the Georgian government by EU countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow is "ready to go as far in normalizing relations with Georgia as official Tbilisi is ready to do."
