Several EU countries insist on imposing sanctions on Georgia, including the suspension of the visa-free regime, in response to the government's attempts to introduce a law on ‘foreign agents’, which was developed under the influence of russian legislation. UNN writes about this with reference to the Financial Times.
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Estonia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Sweden are taking the initiative to discuss restrictive measures at a meeting of EU foreign ministers next week, sources say. According to two interlocutors, among the options are the abolition of the visa - free regime for Georgian citizens, targeted sanctions and the freezing of EU funds.
European capitals are considering " various measures of pressure on the Georgian government," according to officials familiar with the matter.
EU officials have warned that the law on" foreign agents", if passed, will be a major obstacle to Georgia's EU accession process, adding to domestic concerns that the country is sliding deeper into russia's orbit.
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Georgia's ruling party, which is a candidate country for EU membership, is pushing for a controversial law similar to the one already in force in Russia that obliges media and human rights groups receiving foreign funding to register with the government. At the same time, supporters of these norms ignore EU warnings and mass protests.
The ruling Georgian Dream party vowed to complete the passage of the law in the coming weeks and on Tuesday condemned international pressure after reports that members of Congress had also called on the Biden administration to prepare sanctions.