LUXEMBOURG: EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Georgia Monday that its push to join the bloc could be ended, as Brussels weighs options to punish the authorities over a “foreign influence” law.
“The door for Georgia to become a member of the European Union is open,” Borrell said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“But if the government continues on the same track, continues doing what they are doing, this door will be closed, and the Georgian people will pay the consequences, will suffer.”
The ruling party in the South Caucasus country — which formally became a candidate to join the EU last year — adopted a controversial “foreign influence” law this month that critics say is modelled on Russian legislation used to stifle dissent.
The move was condemned by Georgia’s Western supporters, with the United States banning several officials from the South Caucasus nation from visiting.
Concerns were further fueled by proposed new legislation to ban what the ruling party calls “LGBT propaganda,” in another conservative shift that drew fresh comparisons with repressive Russian laws.
The 27-nation EU is now pondering its response to the shifts from the governing Georgian Dream party, but is wary of pushing the ex-Soviet state closer toward Moscow.
Despite the moves from the government, the population in the country remains overwhelmingly in favor of moving closer toward the EU.
Borrell said that initial moves being discussed by ministers could include halting funding for Georgia’s security forces, cutting government financing, or severing high-level contacts.
“We don’t want to affect civilians. We don’t want to put more pain on the civilian people,” Borrell said, adding that no firm decision was expected Monday.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said there would also be discussions on Schengen visa bans for high-ranking Georgian officials.
“The situation for Georgia is serious, and all the responsibility lies on the shoulders of the Georgian government,” he said.
“The Georgian people are supporting the way to the European Union.”
Meanwhile, his counterpart from Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis complained that stronger measures were not yet being put forward in a paper presented by the EU’s diplomatic arm.
“Unfortunately, there are certain options in the paper that are not mentioned, such as actually stopping Georgia’s EU integration, which I think it has to be mentioned,” he said.
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EU top diplomat warns Georgia door to membership could ‘close’
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EU top diplomat warns Georgia door to membership could ‘close’
- Ruling party in Georgia adopted a controversial ‘foreign influence’ law this month
- Critics say legislation is modelled on Russian legislation used to stifle dissent
Death toll climbs after trash site collapse buries dozens in Philippines
MANILA: Hard hat-wearing rescue workers and backhoes dug through rubble in search of survivors on Saturday in the shadow of a mountain of garbage that buried dozens of landfill employees in the central Philippines, killing at least four.
About 50 sanitation workers were buried when refuse toppled onto them Thursday from what a city councillor estimated was a height of 20 storys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City.
Rescuers were now facing the danger of further collapse as they navigated the wreckage, Cebu rescuer Jo Reyes told AFP on Saturday.
“Operations are ongoing as of the moment. It is continuous. (But) from time to time, the landfill is moving, and that will temporarily stop the operation,” she said.
“We have to stop for a while for the safety of our rescuers.”
Information from the disaster site has been emerging slowly, with city employees citing the lack of signal from the dumpsite, which serviced Cebu and other surrounding communities.
Joel Garganera, a Cebu City council member, told AFP that as of 10:00 am (0200 GMT), the death toll from the disaster had climbed to four, with 34 still missing.
“The four casualties were inside the facility when it happened... They have these staff houses inside where most people who were buried stayed,” he said.
“It’s very difficult on the part of the rescuers, because there are really heavy (pieces of steel), and every now and then, the garbage is moving because of the weight from above,” Garganera said.
“We are hoping against hope here and praying for miracles,” he said when asked about the timeline for rescue efforts.
“We cannot just jump to the retrieval (of bodies), because there are a lot of family members who are within the property waiting for any positive result.”
At least 12 employees have so far been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalized.
- ‘Alarming’ height -
“Every now and then when it rains, there are landslides happening around the city of Cebu ... how much more (dangerous is that) for a landfill or a mountain that is made of garbage?” Garganera said in a phone call with AFP.
“The garbage is like a sponge, they really absorb water. It doesn’t (take) a rocket scientist to say that eventually, the incident will happen.”
Garganera described the height from which the trash fell as “alarming,” estimating the top of the pile had stood 20 storys above the area struck.
Drivers had long complained about the dangers of navigating the steep road to the top, he added.
Photos released by police on Friday showed a massive mound of trash atop a hill directly behind buildings that a city information officer had told AFP also contained administrative offices.
Garganera noted that the disaster was a “sad, double whammy” for the city, as the facility was the “lone service provider” for Cebu and adjacent communities.
The landfill “processes 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily,” according to the website of its operator, Prime Integrated Waste Solutions.
Calls and emails to the company have so far gone unreturned.
Rita Cogay, who operates a compactor at the site, told AFP on Friday she had stepped outside to get a drink of water just moments before the building she had been in was crushed.
“I thought a helicopter had crashed. But when I turned, it was the garbage and the building coming down,” the 49-year-old said.
About 50 sanitation workers were buried when refuse toppled onto them Thursday from what a city councillor estimated was a height of 20 storys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City.
Rescuers were now facing the danger of further collapse as they navigated the wreckage, Cebu rescuer Jo Reyes told AFP on Saturday.
“Operations are ongoing as of the moment. It is continuous. (But) from time to time, the landfill is moving, and that will temporarily stop the operation,” she said.
“We have to stop for a while for the safety of our rescuers.”
Information from the disaster site has been emerging slowly, with city employees citing the lack of signal from the dumpsite, which serviced Cebu and other surrounding communities.
Joel Garganera, a Cebu City council member, told AFP that as of 10:00 am (0200 GMT), the death toll from the disaster had climbed to four, with 34 still missing.
“The four casualties were inside the facility when it happened... They have these staff houses inside where most people who were buried stayed,” he said.
“It’s very difficult on the part of the rescuers, because there are really heavy (pieces of steel), and every now and then, the garbage is moving because of the weight from above,” Garganera said.
“We are hoping against hope here and praying for miracles,” he said when asked about the timeline for rescue efforts.
“We cannot just jump to the retrieval (of bodies), because there are a lot of family members who are within the property waiting for any positive result.”
At least 12 employees have so far been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalized.
- ‘Alarming’ height -
“Every now and then when it rains, there are landslides happening around the city of Cebu ... how much more (dangerous is that) for a landfill or a mountain that is made of garbage?” Garganera said in a phone call with AFP.
“The garbage is like a sponge, they really absorb water. It doesn’t (take) a rocket scientist to say that eventually, the incident will happen.”
Garganera described the height from which the trash fell as “alarming,” estimating the top of the pile had stood 20 storys above the area struck.
Drivers had long complained about the dangers of navigating the steep road to the top, he added.
Photos released by police on Friday showed a massive mound of trash atop a hill directly behind buildings that a city information officer had told AFP also contained administrative offices.
Garganera noted that the disaster was a “sad, double whammy” for the city, as the facility was the “lone service provider” for Cebu and adjacent communities.
The landfill “processes 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily,” according to the website of its operator, Prime Integrated Waste Solutions.
Calls and emails to the company have so far gone unreturned.
Rita Cogay, who operates a compactor at the site, told AFP on Friday she had stepped outside to get a drink of water just moments before the building she had been in was crushed.
“I thought a helicopter had crashed. But when I turned, it was the garbage and the building coming down,” the 49-year-old said.
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