Lithuania proposes 6-point plan to EU on how to deal with Georgia – FM

VILNIUS – Lithuania has put forward a six-point plan to the European Union (EU) on how to deal with Georgia, whose government actions the West views as violations of human rights and democratic principles.

"We are proposing six points on how to proceed with Georgia, as the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in Georgia, and this is the right time now to do it," Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told reporters in Brussels ahead of Monday's meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). 

"We have already circulated our suggestions and our proposals, and I will discuss them with my colleagues first. From additional support to civil society to revision of the visa regime that we have with Georgia," he said. 

Lithuania's top diplomat did not provide journalists with any further details of the plan.

Georgia has been in political turmoil since the disputed parliamentary elections in October, which sparked mass protests.

Protesters accuse the government of drifting toward authoritarianism and drawing the country closer to Russia's sphere of influence, but the ruling Georgian Dream party denies this.

Tensions escalated in November when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia was suspending EU membership talks until 2028.

Because of Georgia's shift in political direction, Lithuania reinstated the visa regime for Georgian diplomats this spring.

The EU Council granted member states the right to review the visa regime with Tbilisi after suspending part of the visa-free agreement with Georgia.

However, Georgians holding ordinary passports traveling on short trips to EU countries continue to enjoy visa-free travel.

The visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Georgia has been in effect since March 2011. 

Kobakhidze said in late May that Lithuania's Foreign Ministry does not really exist and is just a typical "deep state" agency.

The prime minister made these remarks after Budrys' interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The Lithuanian foreign minister, asked about Georgia, said the EU has repeatedly missed chances to send a stronger message to the South Caucasus country's leadership about the path it has chosen.

According to Budrys, Lithuania's position is that the best way out of the current situation is to hold new parliamentary elections and repeal all laws restricting the political opposition and NGOs.

Kobakhidze is banned from entering Lithuania, as he is among more than 100 politicians sanctioned by the Baltic states for "severe and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as repression against the people of Georgia."