The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, stated that two issues concerning Georgia will be discussed at today's meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Brussels: sanctions and restrictions on the visa-free regime.
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Before the meeting, Kallas told the media that events in Georgia are not progressing in the right direction - "where a candidate country should be going."
"So we are going to discuss the consequences of the Georgian authorities' use of repression against the opposition and all the tools that they are using there. So we are going to discuss what we can do from the European side. One issue is, of course, sanctions, and the other issue is also restrictions on visa-free travel," said Kaja Kallas.
The Vice-President of the European Commission noted that a discussion on this issue has already taken place and there is a list of individuals to be sanctioned. However, all 27 democratic countries need to agree.
"We are discussing this list, but everyone needs to agree, and we have not yet reached that point. So let's see if we get there," said Kaja Kallas, the former Prime Minister of Estonia. The meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers will be held today for the first time under her leadership.
Hungary intends to veto any sanctions imposed by the European Union against Georgian government officials.
On December 2, Estonia and Lithuania imposed visa sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream, Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri, and nine other senior officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On December 15, the countries expanded the list of those sanctioned, banning 14 more senior Georgian officials from entering Estonia and 17 from Lithuania. Irakli Kobakhidze is among them.
