00:01The European Union will hold a deep dive in January on new measures against Georgia and that's stopping policy from
00:08further democratic backsliding, EU foreign policy chief Kaya Kala said on Wednesday.
00:13Georgian government right now is on a coalition course with the European Union regarding the democratic backsliding. That's very, very
00:22clear. I mean, the steps that have been taken are not going to the right direction.
00:26The European Commission published its annual progress reports on candidate countries. For Georgia, they point to further democratic backsliding with
00:35new restrictions on civic space and the deterioration of fundamental rights. Kaya Kala said it was too early to tell
00:41whether she would propose new sanctions on the Georgian government.
00:44For us, it is most important how do we, you know, make the response so that we clearly indicate that
00:51we are supporting the Georgian people and their aspirations and are not turning away from the Georgian people, but at
00:59the same time giving clear messages to the government that we are not supporting these kind of policies.
01:06In 2024, the EU proposed sanctioning officials responsible for violently repressing peaceful protests, but Hungary and Slovakia blocked the measures.
01:16Brussels did, however, suspend visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic passports.
