Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobahidze said on Thursday that during a discussion on the “foreign agents” law, the EU Commissioner threatened him with the example of assassinating Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Oliver Varhelyi wrote in his announcement that, as Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, and given the current political situation in Georgia, he has made significant efforts to dissuade the country's political leadership from adopting the Foreign Influence Transparency Law. He stressed that the adoption of the law could undermine Georgia's path towards the European Union, MTI reported.
He stressed that, knowing the strong pro-EU sentiment of Georgian society, during the phone conversation he felt that he had to draw the attention of the Prime Minister so as not to aggravate the already fragile situation by adopting the law, which could further aggravate the situation. It leads to further divisions and potentially uncontrollable situations on the streets of Tbilisi.
Olivier Varhelyi lamented that part of his phone call was “not only taken completely out of context”, but was presented to the public in a way that “could lead to a complete misinterpretation of its original purpose”.
“In this regard, the recent tragic event in Slovakia was cited as an example and an indication of what this high degree of polarization can lead to even in Europe,” he said.
The Hungarian EU Commissioner stressed that he continues to encourage the Georgian authorities not to accept the law and, as he explained, he requests this as a friend of “the known and hitherto respected Georgia.” Finally, Oliver Varheli affirmed his support for Georgians who, according to the statement, are working for a European future.
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