“Georgia’s democratic backsliding will come at [a] cost,” the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.
Kobakhidze, however, told the media that visa-free travel to Europe is not “existential” for his country, and once again defended the foreign agents law, claiming it was necessary to defend Georgian “peace and stability” against foreign influence.
The prime minister added that he believes the visa-free regime will ultimately not be suspended.
The EU has long mulled sanctioning officials responsible for the crackdown on the opposition, but that would require unanimity among member countries — and the ruling Georgian Dream has allies in Hungary and Slovakia.
Suspending visa-free travel, however, would only require a qualified majority vote.
In January, the Council already suspended visa-free travel for Georgian diplomats and officials.