Paweł Herczyński on sanctions against “Georgian Dream” members: At the EU level, we are still working on introducing sanctions, and hopefully, we will reach a point where all 27 member states are in full agreement

At the EU level, we are still trying to impose sanctions [on the Georgian government], and hopefully, we will reach a point where all 27 member states are united — said the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński, ahead of the event organized by the Polish Embassy titled “The Russian Threat and Its Perception: Based on Polish, Ukrainian, and Georgian Experiences.”

According to him, in recent months, Georgia has seen intimidation, violence, brutality, and impunity for those who have assaulted activists.

“What we’ve seen in Georgia over the past several months is intimidation, violence, brutality, and complete impunity for those who were beating people in the streets. That is why, as the European Union, we are trying to impose sanctions on those responsible for the violence. But as I’ve explained many times before, in order to impose sanctions at the EU level, we need the consent of all 27 member states. We need unanimity, and unfortunately, we don’t have that at this stage. There are member states that oppose it. That’s why the majority of our member states have decided to introduce bilateral sanctions, and more and more countries are targeting specific individuals — officials responsible for the violence in the streets of Tbilisi and other Georgian cities. At the same time, we are still working at the EU level to impose sanctions, and hopefully, we will get to the point where all 27 member states are united,” said the ambassador.

According to Paweł Herczyński, it was the “Georgian Dream” government itself that declared its desire to join the European Union and officially submitted its application in 2022. He urged the Georgian government to move closer to the EU rather than distancing itself.

“Please come closer to us, and do not move away. Unfortunately, our efforts are being completely ignored. The EU is based on values and principles — democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. And as the EU, we are open to welcoming new members. Of course, this is on a voluntary basis. Georgia is one of the countries that officially applied to join the EU.

And it was this very government, the ‘Georgian Dream’ government, that submitted the application for EU membership in 2022. I was sent here as the representative of the European Union to assist you in this process and to make sure that Georgia joins the EU as soon as possible. By submitting the application, the government made a commitment.

They committed to abide by and respect those same principles — democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. But what we have seen is that since Georgia received candidate status a year and a half ago, the actions, decisions, and legislation introduced in Georgia have contradicted these principles. And this has been repeatedly stated by the European Council and all of our leaders. We have asked Georgia: please, don’t do this. Please, come closer to us and do not move away. Unfortunately, our efforts are being completely ignored,” he said.