At an extraordinary session of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor urged the European Commission and the High Representative to propose personal sanctions against Georgian officials to the European Council.

According to Sánchez Amor, the unanimous message from the European Parliament’s recent mission to Georgia was the need to apply individual sanctions.

“It was a universal claim in every meeting we had: the only leverage we have is personal sanctions. The only thing they care about is their businesses and enjoyment of the democratic life of our countries, where their kids are studying in our universities. Why are we so timid in using the tools we’ve already approved? We have framework for human rights sanctions, being part of our legal tools framework, but we never use them in countries where such violations are happening. My call is to the Commission and the High Representative to propose to the Council the set of personal sanctions,” he said.

The session included discussions on the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights mission to Georgia, held from March 26 to 28.  Lasha Bughadze, Beka Korshia, and Keti Kerashvili also addressed the session.