European Parliament member Tobias Cremer stated that a regime using chemical weapons against its own people cannot legitimately aspire to a European future.
Speaking at the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the 2025 Sakharov Prize laureates, Cremer criticized Georgia’s ruling “Georgian Dream” party, saying it is attempting to replicate the authoritarian model seen in Belarus.
“Belarus is one of the darkest dictatorships in the world, and ‘Georgian Dream’ is clearly trying to imitate it. They are using ‘camite,’ a chemical agent known from World War I. A regime that uses chemical weapons against its own people cannot claim a European path,” Cremer said.
He added that the work of Sakharov Prize laureates Mzia Amaglobeli and Andrzej Poczobut demonstrates that a different path is possible: “They show that there exists a different Belarus, a different Georgia a people standing proudly and fighting for a European future. It is our duty to support them, to give voice to those who cannot defend themselves against chemical weapons or arbitrary imprisonment.”
The European Parliament member’s remarks follow a BBC investigation published on 1 December, which reported that the Georgian government may have used camite against protesters during anti-government demonstrations last year. The ruling party denies these allegations and accuses the BBC of disinformation and defamation.