On May 27, pro-government media outlets TV Imedi, POSTV – Analytics, Newshub.ge, as well as Facebook accounts published a quote by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell, on the “Transparency of Foreign Influence” law. The following text can be found on the distributed social media cards: “Some Member States considered that they were not so grave, not so important.”
A link to an article is indicated in the comments of the TV Imedi post.
Pro-government media outlets published the statement of the high representative of the European Union incompletely and selected only a small part of the quote, from which the content of the statement gives the impression that the essence of the law is unimportant to the European Union. Actually, according to Borrell, other member states have rightly considered that the law is against the laws and values of the European Union. According to Borrell, they have started to consider the most appropriate EU response in case the law is enacted and take decisions at the next Foreign Affairs Council in June.
On May 27, a meeting of foreign ministers of EU member states was held in Brussels, which was chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell. At the meeting, the ministers of foreign affairs of the EU countries also spoke about the law “On transparency of foreign influence” in Georgia. After the meeting, Borrell reviewed the important aspects of the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of the EU member states and said that they have started “they have started to consider the most appropriate EU response in case the law is enacted and take decisions at the next Foreign Affairs Council in June.” During the exchange, some member countries considered it not so grave and not so important, while others rightly considered that this law contradicts the norms and values of the European Union. After that, Borrell said that he “would like Member [States] to be ready to take decisions every time there is something which does not fulfil our values, which does not [go with] international norms, which does not fulfil the European path – not only in Georgia, but everywhere in the world.”
Joseph Borrell: “We had an exchange on developments around the law on transparency of foreign influence in Georgia. Some Member States considered that they were not so grave, not so important. Others considered – rightly so – that this law is against EU laws and values..”
In addition, Borrell concluded that the October elections were discussed at the meeting and that in the upcoming elections, the Georgian people will have to vote on the trajectory of their country and the government’s actions may ultimately affect the benefits they will receive as a result of EU integration, but no decision has been made.
It should be noted that pro-government media outlets did not have a link to the article of Borrell’s full statement. “Imedi TV” adds a link to the article only in the comments. The cards published by pro-government media outlets represent a propaganda method called “card stacking” in which the information is partly true, but the facts are selectively presented or essential facts are omitted.
What is the expected reaction of the EU?
On May 27, before the meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU member states, the ambassadors of the EU member states discussed the measures in case the law “On transparency of foreign influence” is adopted in Georgia. On May 9, according to Rikard Jozwiak, the editor of the European Bureau of “Radio Liberty”, “suspending visa liberalisation cannot be ruled out. All things on the table.”
At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague, the draft law was harshly criticized by Western countries and human rights groups for creating a framework against civil society and the media. After the adoption of the draft law, the European Commission will be instructed to create a package of sanctions, which will include the reduction of EU money in the country, the imposition of sanctions on Georgian politicians, the suspension of the country’s EU integration process, and the cancellation of visa liberalization. The unanimity of EU member states will not be necessary in case of reduction of funds for Georgia from the EU budget and cancellation of visa liberalization, although Georgia receives grants of about 85 million EUR, part of which is received by the state, and part by the organizations in the country, which serve to support the civil sector. Also, it should be noted that the EU is cautious about the issue of the visa-free regime because they think that after large-scale protests, when a large part of the population opposes the law, canceling visa liberalization and selecting the population as a target will be unfair.
As for Georgia’s European integration process, after the third reading of the law, the European Union published a statement in which it was mentioned that the adoption of this law would have a negative impact on Georgia’s progress on the path to the European Union.
Several EU member states have taken the initiative to discuss restrictive measures and impose sanctions on Georgia. At the same time, the ambassadors of Estonia and Germany in Georgia directly stated that they would not support the start of negotiations for Georgia’s accession to the European Union.
Options for restrictive measures include suspension of visa-free travel for Georgian citizens to EU countries, sanctions, and limitation of EU funds. The Financial Times reported on this on May 22. Officials said that the European capitals are considering different measures of pressure on the Georgian government, and if the law is adopted, the commission will not recommend the start of negotiations on Georgia’s accession to the European Union and will postpone it for an indefinite period.
