We must recognize and understand that Georgia is the Kremlin’s biggest victory at the moment, – MEP Rasa Jukneviciene, the European Parliament’s permanent rapporteur on Georgia, said in a speech to the European Parliament.
According to Rasa Jukneviciene, the support to the Georgians from EU member states and institutions has been “weaker” than they expected, because, with the exception of a few countries, sanctions have not been imposed on those responsible.
“Georgians are still fighting for their European state. They are our, at least my, heroes. But today we must also recognize and understand that at the moment Georgia is the Kremlin’s biggest victory. The country was conquered from within and this did not start yesterday, it started in 2012, when the Kremlin also wanted to conquer Ukraine, Moldova and other countries from within. They did not succeed there, but, unfortunately, they think they succeeded in Georgia. We are here to say: we do not agree with such an assessment of Georgia and such a diagnosis. I am a standing rapporteur on Georgia in the European Parliament and I think I must say that we, members of the European Parliament from different groups – we tried and did everything we could to reflect in our resolutions, in our reports the current situation and a roadmap on how to help Georgians. And, what can I say, for the EU, for us – to have more democracy on the European continent…
To be fair and open – the support to the Georgians from the EU member states and sometimes institutions has been weaker than we expected. With the exception of a few countries, sanctions have never been imposed on those responsible. Bidzina Ivanishvili still has the Order of France and he is a French citizen, I was told. The person who is behind all the tragedies that are happening in Georgia now. Sputnik-style media still works in our institutions and, of course, there is a lot to be done,” the MEP said.
She also spoke about visa-free travel and said that no one wants to punish the Georgian people, but visa-free travel is within a specific framework, has specific criteria that all countries must meet. In addition, according to the MEP, it is impossible for “the regime’s puppets” to benefit from visa-free travel.
“As for visa-free travel – no one in the European Parliament wants to punish the Georgian people. No one. But visa-free travel is within a very specific framework, it has very specific criteria. All countries must fulfill them. And the assessments, the reviews apply to all countries, and at least we agree among ourselves that the persons responsible for the situation in their country – the regime’s puppets and the regime itself – cannot enjoy visa-free travel as they have enjoyed it before. These options are on the table,” she said.
Rasa Yukneviciene: No one wants to punish the Georgian people, but visa-free travel has specific criteria and all countries must comply – the regime’s puppets and the regime cannot benefit from visa-free travel
