On Monday 27 May, several Member State foreign ministers and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called on Georgia not to vote in favour of the law on ‘transparency of foreign interference’ (see EUROPE 13410/10).
At the end of the Council, the High Representative urged the authorities to withdraw this legislation. He warned that if the law was finally approved, the EU would consider more appropriate measures. These measures could be discussed at the next Council meeting in June. During a short in camera discussion between ministers, the European Commission confirmed that the law did not comply with three of the nine recommendations put forward to ensure that Georgia progresses along the European path.
“We need to show the way forward and say that we are following this very closely and will take action if necessary, because closer ties with the EU are not a one-way street. All this can be reversed if we feel that the State is going in the wrong direction”, warned the Austrian minister, Alexander Schallenberg, on his arrival.
His Lithuanian counterpart, Gabrielius Landsbergis, threatened to withdraw the country’s candidate status. According to him, if the law is adopted “Georgia cannot continue on its EU path no longer”. He recalled that conditions had been set for obtaining this status and that if they were not met, there would no longer be any candidate status.
The Estonian minister, Margus Tsahkna, explained that it was possible to suspend the visa liberalisation scheme.
On the other hand, the Hungarian minister, Péter Szijjártó, defended Georgia against criticism, affirming his country’s support for Georgia’s European integration during the forthcoming Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council, explained Hungarian spokesman Zoltan Kovacs. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)