High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell “with the European Commission” on Wednesday In the current situation He condemned the agents' law passed in Georgia the day before. (We wrote more about the legislation, against which tens of thousands have been protesting for more than a month, here.) Borrell's Hungarian colleague, Oliver Varhelyi, was originally included in the title of the EU declaration, but the name of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy was removed after a while. POLITICO. This is noted on the committee's website: The document – which was activated sometime before 3:11 – was updated shortly after 12:12, and the version of the page we opened earlier still bears Varheli's name.
Original ad on the left, updated ad on the right – Source: European Commission
POLITICO Wednesday Morning Newsletter He wrote about it, that the committee's announcement was actually a supplementary plan. Originally, the document was to be issued on behalf of the Council of Member States, but it was rejected by the Hungarian and Slovak governments. The newspaper claimed that the Similar to Euractive. (In such cases, it is already customary, for example, for a text to be published in the name of the Council Presidency or a group of Member States only.) The Hungarians and Slovaks justified their decision by saying that they had no right to interfere. On internal affairs, Euractiv wrote, citing several EU diplomats. As the newspaper knows, a copy of the text was already ready on Monday, but even after it was watered down, it was not passed on Tuesday, leaving a statement bearing the names of Borrell and Varheli.
But according to Politico, the Hungarian commissioner did not approve the text, which is why he did not appear until Wednesday morning.
“This is what we get when we leave the chicken coop to the fox.”
A European Union diplomat commented on the situation to the newspaper, while a Commission official “had nothing to say” about Varheli, only indicating that the document would be issued as soon as possible.
The final text describes “intimidation, threats and physical attacks against civil society representatives, political leaders, journalists and their families” as unacceptable. It calls on the Georgian authorities to investigate the documented cases. He warns: The heads of state and government of the European Union have granted membership candidacy to the country in such a way that the Commission's proposal sets nine reforms as a condition. This requires guaranteeing human rights and free work for civil organizations, which is undermined by the legislation, according to the statement.
“The EU has clearly and repeatedly stated that the spirit and substance of the law are not compatible with the EU’s core standards and values” and would “negatively affect Georgia’s progress” on its path to the EU.
The statement urges the Georgian authorities to withdraw the law.
This would not be the first time that Varhelyi has interfered with the European Commission's opinion: in October, the body had to clearly refute what the Hungarian member said about the suspension of Palestinian development funds. Many other problems arose around Varheli, for example he had to explain his position to the European Parliament (EP) due to a stupid comment. June 6-9 Representatives are re-elected, and the entire European Commission is then reconstituted. Each Member State government nominates one member to the Governing Council, and the entire committee must be voted on by the European Parliament after a parliamentary hearing. It is not yet known whether the Hungarian government will nominate Varhelyi again or announce another name.
Cover image: Eric Vidal/European Parliament/European Union
