Hungary and Slovakia – both with populist, pro-Russian leaders -- on December 16 blocked a proposed package of European Union sanctions against leading Georgian officials for that government's violent crackdown on pro-West protesters over recent weeks.
EU foreign ministers, who are planning for a December 19 Brussels summit, moved forward, however, on a plan to suspend visa liberalization for diplomatic passport holders of the South Caucasus nation.
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Anti-Government Protests Continue In Tbilisi
The expected moves on December 16 by Hungary and Slovakia prevent the implementation a series of measures against Georgian officials that would have included visa bans and asset freezes.
The move would have required unanimous support by the 27-member bloc.
However, the suspension of visa-liberalization procedures for Georgian diplomatic passport holders requires only a majority vote, meaning 55 percent of member states comprising 65 percent of total EU population.
The European Commission has begun planning for the suspension, and the proposal could be sent to member states this week.
SEE ALSO: Edward Lucas: 'Georgia Is Heading In The Direction Of Belarus'Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakian premier Robert Fico have been a thorn in the side of fellow EU leaders seeking to punish Georgia for its violent crackdowns on dissent and its increasingly pro-Russia policies.
Both have opposed sanctions on the Kremlin for its war against Russia and have expressed support for the Georgian Dream-led government in Tbilisi.
The EU has never sanctioned Georgian politicians, but earlier this year it froze more than 100 million euro ($105.1 million) of EU funds going to Georgia and halted EU accession talks with Tbilisi.
Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had set a list of Georgian leaders to sanction following a violent crackdown on protesters angered by the ruling Georgian Dream party's decision to delay the Caucasus country's negotiations to join the EU.
"We have proposed the list for sanctions for these people who are...using really force and violence against the opposition," Kallas said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
"But everybody needs to agree to the list, and we are not there yet."
"All the developments that we are seeing right now in Georgia are not going in the right direction where the candidate countries should be," Kallas told reporters.
Western leaders have been alarmed at what they say are increasingly violent measures against protesters and a growing pro-Russia tilt within the Georgian Dream-led government.
SEE ALSO: The Bitter Standoff Over Georgia's Next PresidentThe United States earlier this month imposed more visa restrictions on Georgian officials for "undermining democracy" and on December 16 indicated that further measures are imminent.
"We have been greatly concerned about the state of Georgian democracy, the actions that Georgia Dream has taken to undermine [Georgian] democracy," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
"We have other sanctions that we are preparing to unfold in the coming weeks," he added.
Protesters have also called for fresh elections following allegations of electoral fraud during the October parliamentary poll whose results the opposition has refused to recognize, claiming Georgian Dream rigged the vote to cling to power.
In power since 2012, Georgian Dream, the party founded by Russia-friendly billionaire and ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been accused by critics of becoming increasingly more authoritarian.
Pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili, who has sided with the protesters, has said the elections were manipulated with the help of Russia.