EU sanctions on Georgian officials coming to the table despite Hungary's veto threat

Sanctions on Georgia will be put on the table of foreign affairs ministers when they meet on Monday despite Hungary's explicit threat to veto any such restriction, several European Union officials and diplomats said ahead of the gathering.

Brussels has grown increasingly exasperated with the actions of the Georgian government ever since Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze unilaterally announced the suspension of membership talks until 2028, triggering nightly protests that have now entered their third week.

The crackdown on pro-EU demonstrations has led to chaotic clashes on the streets, arrests of opposition figures, multiple reports of injured people and hundreds of arrests, all of which prompted an outcry of condemnation from European countries.

The images of violent repression have fuelled calls for sanctions against Georgia, an idea that was previously floated but that never moved beyond backroom talks.

This time, though, the issue will be officially on the agenda.

Kaja Kallas, the new EU High Representative, will ask foreign affairs ministers to give her services the green light to proceed with the sanctions.

"It will be on the table," said a high-ranking EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. "We are talking about sanctions addressed to people who have participated in the crackdown of protesters."

Kallas will not arrive at Monday's ministerial meeting with a specific list of names that she wishes to slap with an asset freeze and a travel ban, as the bloc usually does. Instead, the High Representative will request a mandate to kick-start technical work.

"We will discuss the political framework on whether we should act or not on Georgia," the official said. "I cannot enter into names and positions."

Earlier this month, the Baltic states broke ranks with the bloc and went ahead with sanctions on 11 Georgian figures, including the minister for internal affairs and several of his deputies. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the secretive oligarch who tightly controls the ruling Georgian Dream party and supports closer ties with Russia, was also blacklisted.

The 11 individuals were denied entry into the three countries as a result.

The European Parliament has also demanded sanctions on Georgian officials and political leaders "responsible for the democratic backsliding, violations of electoral laws and standards, administrative abuses and misuse of state institutions."

The list proposed by MEPs features the prime minister, Tbilisi's mayor, the Parliament's speaker, Georgian Dream's chairman, and Bidzina Ivanishvili.

It is unclear how high in the hierarchy Kallas wishes to go in her plans. But regardless of the road she envisions, a main roadblock awaits: Hungary.

A choreographed veto

Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign affairs minister, has left no doubt about his adamant opposition to any proposal that resembles sanctions on Georgia.

"It is nonsense, it is outrageous, there is nothing to justify it," Szijjártó said on Tuesday after hosting his Georgian counterpart, Maka Botchorishvili, in Budapest. "If such a proposal is officially made, we will of course veto it. Everyone can be assured of that."

Szijjártó defended the integrity of the parliamentary elections in October that saw Georgian Dream win a majority of seats. An observation mission led by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) reported multiple irregularities, including cases of intimidation, coercion and vote-buying that "compromised" the ballot.

"Whenever a conservative, patriotic party wins an election, the liberal mainstream immediately questions the democratic nature of the political system, and when a liberal party wins an election, they celebrate the fantastic rule of democracy," Szijjártó said.

The Hungarian threat makes it virtually impossible for the Kallas plan to move forward next week or anytime soon. Slovakia, a country often aligned with Budapest on foreign policy, is also expected to resist proposals for sanctions.

"We feel we should take measures – sanctions – against those most responsible for the violence that we're seeing," a senior EU diplomat said on Friday.

"I'm not sure there will be a consensus in the Council."

Besides sanctions against officials, Brussels is also considering restricting the visa-free regime that Georgian nationals enjoy when they travel to the bloc.

"The case will be to have a measure that really has an impact and gets Georgian Dream's attention. Taking steps on visa (policy) will get their attention," the senior diplomat said.

A diplomat from another country cautioned against any curb that could negatively affect ordinary citizens in Georgia, including those who support European integration, and recommended a distinct focus on political representatives.

"For us, it is very important to have a firm response, to send out signals of great concern about the deterioration of the general situation in Georgia," the diplomat said.

"The emphasis should be placed, first and foremost, on diplomatic and service passport visas and less on a general visa exemption."

Any proposal to tweak the visa-free regime has to come from the European Commission. In its latest report, the executive concluded Georgia no longer met all the criteria necessary to enjoy this benefit and called on the country to, among other things, repeal two controversial laws targeting NGOs and LGBTQ+ rights that have raised comparisons with the Kremlin and led to a de-facto halt in accession talks.

"We have already taken measures in response to the serious democratic backsliding over the past months and we'll consider additional measures," a Commission spokesperson said on Friday. "All options remain on the table."

Alice Tidey contributed reporting.