Georgian PM blasts EU for visa ‘blackmail’ as election crackdown looms

The Georgian government will not back down in the face of European Union opposition to its plans to outlaw the entire parliamentary opposition and ban LGBTQ+ activism if it wins an all-important election next month, the country’s prime minister has vowed.

In a speech Tuesday, Irakli Kobakhidze hit out at unconfirmed reports in Georgian media that Brussels was planning to revoke a visa-free travel agreement for the country’s citizens if backsliding on democracy and the rule of law continues.

“This is some kind of cheap blackmail attempt,” he claimed, arguing society as a whole was being punished by the EU. “It will not have an impact on the election.”

Under the terms of a 2017 deal, Georgians can travel to EU countries inside the Schengen area for up to six months a year without a visa. The arrangement was agreed as the South Caucasus nation forged closer ties with the bloc. Relations have hit rock bottom in the past year after the ruling Georgian Dream party introduced a slew of authoritarian laws and strengthened ties with Moscow.

Kobakhidze was responding to reporting from Georgia’s Formula TV that the EU now plans to suspend the agreement “in case of further deterioration of [the] situation and violation of democratic principles, including free elections.”

The European Commission didn’t immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.

At the same time, the Georgian parliament on Tuesday passed a law effectively banning public references to same-sex relationships. The so-called LGBT propaganda bill, which cannot be viewed on the parliament’s website outside of Georgia, will outlaw Pride celebrations and protests, and force cinemas to censor films.

Kobakhidze claims 91 percent of the public support the measures, which are similar to restrictions used by Russia to repress minority groups.

That comes just a day after the United States imposed sanctions on leading Georgian Dream politicians and security officials over what it said was their role in undermining democracy. Authorities ordered a heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful demonstrators during this year’s mass protests against a Russian-style “foreign agent” law targeting Western-funded NGOs and media outlets.

The EU has effectively frozen Georgia’s EU candidacy in the wake of the move, despite an overwhelming majority of Georgians consistently saying they want to join the bloc. The country will head to the ballot box on Oct. 26, and polls show Georgian Dream is likely to be the largest party. If it is, it has vowed to “punish” its opponents by banning virtually all other parliamentary parties.