On Wednesday 4 September, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service deplored the “rushed” adoption at second reading of the legislative package on “family values and the protection of minors”.
Earlier in the day, the Georgian Parliament passed the legislation, deemed anti-LGBTIQ+, by 81 votes to none. The aim is for final adoption in September, a few weeks before the parliamentary elections on 26 October.
“This package undermines the fundamental rights of Georgian people and risks further stigmatisation and discrimination of part of the population”, the spokesperson stated in a press release. He also regretted that legislation with “important” repercussions on the EU integration process had been adopted without proper public consultation and without in-depth analysis of its compliance with European and international standards.
“The EU calls on the Georgian authorities to entirely reconsider this legislative package. Such a proposal, combined with the restrictions on civil society imposed by the Law on transparency of foreign influence, will place further strain on EU-Georgia relations”, warned the spokesperson, urging the authorities to recommit themselves to the path of EU integration.
He issued a reminder that the country’s accession process was de facto at a standstill.
On Thursday 29 August, at the end of the informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers, at which Georgia was briefly discussed, the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, underlined the ministers’ growing concern about the country’s trajectory “away from the EU”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)