Hungary and Slovakia veto EU sanctions on Georgian officials as protests continue

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Hungary and Slovakia have vetoed a proposal to impose EU sanctions on Georgian officials in response to the continued crackdown on protesters, several diplomats and officials told Euronews.

In the meantime, a separate plan to suspend visa-free travel for Georgian holders of diplomatic and service passports will move forward as it only requires a qualified majority. The plan needs to be developed by the European Commission.

The sanctions were put forward by High Representative Kaja Kallas during a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.

It marked Kallas’s first proposal since taking office on 1 December.

“It’s my first Hungarian veto but I can guarantee it’s not the last,” Kallas told reporters at the end of the meeting, confirming the blockage.

“With sanctions, we need 27 on board. So therefore we are, unfortunately, not there. But I think the (suspension) of the visa-free regime is the first step and is also symbolic.”

Ahead of the gathering, Hungary, a close ally to the ruling party, Georgian Dream, had telegraphed its intention to block any restrictive measure.

“The European Union has set a world record for political hypocrisy regarding Georgia,” said Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign affairs minister, describing the government of Tbilisi as “peace-oriented” and “patriotic.”

Slovakia, whose prime minister, Robert Fico, often aligns with Viktor Orbán on foreign policy, had been more discreet about its position but was widely expected to say no.

“No hasty steps will help,” said Juraj Blanár, Slovakia’s foreign affairs minister. “It is necessary to approach Georgia with respect and openness and to leave the corridors open for this communication, both in terms of diplomacy and other related matters.”

Kallas’s proposal, which was not made public, targeted state officials involved in the repression of demonstrations, which began in late November after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze unilaterally announced the suspension of membership talks until 2028. (The accession process was in fact frozen by Brussels over two highly controversial laws deemed incompatible with the bloc’s fundamental values.)

The violent suppression of pro-EU protests has led to chaotic clashes on the streets, arrests of opposition figures, multiple reports of injured people and hundreds of arrests, prompting statements of strong condemnation and fresh calls for sanctions.

Earlier this month, the three Baltic countries broke ranks with the EU and introduced their own set of sanctions against 11 Georgian figures, including the minister for internal affairs and several of his deputies. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the secretive oligarch who tightly controls the ruling party and supports closer ties with Russia, was also blacklisted.

Over the weekend, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia ramped up the pressure with additional restrictions – this time targeting the prime minister himself, among others.

“This violence is against human rights, it’s criminal actually,” Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s foreign affairs minister, said on Monday morning.

“The Georgian authorities, the Georgian Dream leaders, they have lied, they have lied to the Georgian people and to us. So there are consequences.”

The situation in Georgia has deteriorated sharply since the parliamentary elections of October, which saw the Georgian Dream obtain a majority of votes amid widespread reports of irregularities. An observation mission led by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) noted cases of intimidation, coercion and vote-buying that “compromised” the secrecy of the vote.

As a result, opposition parties have refused to recognise the legitimacy of the new parliament and continue to demand a re-run of the elections.

On Saturday, Georgian Dream lawmakers elected Mikheil Kavelashvilia former football player who co-authored the highly controversial “foreign agent” lawas the country’s new president. The outgoing president, Salome Zourabichvili, a staunch advocate of European integration, slammed the decision of her successor as a “parody.”

Updated at 17.58 with quotes from Kallas, Szijjártó, and Blanár.