Georgia
Georgia Faces Possible EU Sanctions and Visa Review Over Democratic Backsliding
After months of simmering tensions in the country, Georgia is slowly moving up the EU’s agenda again, driven by a wave of arrests of opposition figures and new restrictive laws such as the Foreign Agents Registration Act and changes to broadcasting regulations.
For much of the past year, due to a lack of unanimity, the EU has struggled to form a clear strategy toward the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) government, particularly after it claimed victory in last year’s disputed parliamentary elections amid allegations of irregularities.
Earlier this year, Brussels imposed visa requirements on holders of Georgian diplomatic passports and refrained from holding high-level meetings while attempting to divert some funding away from the government and toward civil society instead.
However, stronger measures — like EU sanctions on GD leaders — were blocked, especially by Hungary and Slovakia, in early 2025.
Could things be different now?
EU foreign ministers briefly discussed the situation in Georgia when they assembled in Brussels on June 23 and they agreed to come back to the issue again when they meet on July 15 ahead of the monthlong Brussels recess when little of note occurs in terms of policymaking in the bloc.
Situation Continues To ‘Deteriorate Drastically’
Prompting the recent June discussion was a one-page paper drafted by Lithuania, one of the EU’s more hawkish voices regarding Georgia’s current leadership.
Seen by RFE/RL, it proposes several measures the club can enact as the situation in Georgia continues “to deteriorate drastically.”
While the discussion was rather short and came at the end of the meeting, several member states spoke out and seemed to agree that Brussels needs to do something more.
However, EU officials whom RFE/RL has spoken to under condition of anonymity did suggest it was very telling that Hungary argued that the bloc should pursue closer cooperation with Tbilisi.
Austria, while critical of the situation in the South Caucasus republic, also cautioned that it was important not to push it too much into Russia’s orbit.
So, what is Lithuania proposing?
One of the six points is, of course, personal sanctions on Georgian Dream’s leadership.
This will not fly due to Budapest’s objections, but EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas interestingly floated another sanctions idea when speaking to media after the meeting: to target judges that are responsible for sentencing the opposition and civil society members.
While it’s hard to envisage unanimity on this, it should be noted that EU sanctions on Russia and Belarus several years ago started with asset freezes and visa bans on lower-profile people, such as judges, instead of well-known political players.
Other suggestions in the paper allude to suspending all EU financial aid to Tbilisi, including “large-scale infrastructure projects.”
These sorts of investments are often hard to just stop, however, especially since other countries in the region could be involved and the projects are already under way.
Brussels is also exploring channeling more money to independent journalists, civil society groups, and dismissed Georgian diplomats and civil servants. But the reality is that the EU is trying to help a lot of organizations and countries worldwide in recent months after USAID scaled down its operations.
The bloc will start discussions this summer on a new long-term budget beyond the current one, which runs out in 2027. But, right now, there isn’t too much spare cash available.
Worth Looking Out For
Perhaps the two most interesting topics covered in the discussion paper are the suspension of visa liberalization and of the EU-Georgia association agreement.
None of this will be easy to do, but there are a few things worth looking out for here.
Removing visa liberalization for all Georgian citizens is something few want as it targets the general population. But the paper has floated the idea of setting a concrete deadline for Tbilisi to address shortcomings, notably around fundamental rights, as highlighted in a 2024 European Commission report on visa policies for third countries.
It could be that visa suspension for certain categories of travelers could be forthcoming, especially since this only requires a qualified majority of member states (55 percent of countries representing 65 percent of the total EU population). The EU itself has also enacted rules making it easier to issue suspensions.
Then there is the EU-Georgia association agreement, which has been in force since 2016.
This regulates political and trade relations between Brussels and Tbilisi via the so-called Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement (DCFTA), which is part of the general association agreement.
The Lithuanian paper suggests the European Commission should examine whether Georgia is breaching the agreement, particularly Article 2, which covers fundamental principles like respect for human rights.
A similar review was recently conducted on the EU-Israel association agreement, and Brussels found several breaches. Given this emerging trend in EU foreign policy, don’t be surprised if some member states push for a Georgia review as soon as July.
Further down the line it is worth noting that unanimity is needed to suspend the entire association agreement, but suspending some areas could be easier. To put the trade aspects of the agreement on ice, for example, only requires a qualified majority.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. –Georgia Tech softball (30-27, 10-14 ACC) collected its second postseason conference honor as first baseman Addison Leschber was named to the 2026 ACC All-Tournament Team, as was announced by the conference following the 2026 ACC Softball Championship game on Saturday.
Leschber is Tech softball’s first All-Tournament honoree since Emma Kauf during the 2023 season. During the First Round of the ACC Championships, Leschber was nothing short of exceptional as she went 2-for-4 with one home run, one double, and five RBI. Leschber’s first-inning home run brought her to 13 home runs this season, the third most of any Yellow Jacket this season. In Tech’s fourth meeting of the season with Notre Dame, Leschber saw her 12th multi-RBI game and ninth multi-hit game of the season. The senior finished the season with 26 runs, 37 hits, seven doubles, 13 home runs, 42 RBI, and 83 total bases.
2026 ACC Softball Championship All-Tournament Team
Jessica Oakland, Duke
Addison Leschber, Georgia Tech
Bri Despines, Louisville
Madison Pickens, Louisville
Bree Carrico, Virginia Tech
Michelle Chatfield, Virginia Tech
Emma Mazzarone, Virginia Tech
Jasyoni Beachum, Florida State
Ashtyn Danley, Florida State
Jazzy Francik, Florida State (MVP)
Isa Torres, Florida State
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets will await their fate in the NCAA Tournament Selection show on Sunday, May 10, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech softball team, follow us on Twitter (@GaTechSoftball), Facebook, Instagram (@GaTechsoftball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
Kirby Smart hasn’t hid from how Georgia goes about doling out dollars to its roster.
He wants veterans to make more than newcomers.
“I don’t want you to have to take a discount,” Smart recently told Josh Pate. “OK, a discount might be a little less than year one or two. We have we have traditionally paid our players junior and senior year as much as anybody at those positions. We don’t want to start [earlier] because I want you to earn it and work your way up.”
Smart acknowledges that route might hurt Georgia in recruiting. The 2026 recruiting cycle seems to reflect that. It was the first time Georgia signed a recruiting class that finished outside the top five of the 247Sports Composite rankings since Smart’s first class back in 2016. The Bulldogs had just two players finish in the top 50 of the player rankings, the fewest ever for a Smart signing haul.
Coming out of spring practice, it seems like the Bulldogs did a good job of identifying players who could fit and play immediately. Craig Dandridge, Tyriq Green, Khamari Brooks and Zykie Helton all had strong springs. None were viewed as top 50 overall prospects.
As for the top players on Georgia’s 2026 roster, most of them are in either their third or fourth seasons. KJ Bolden, Ellis Robinson, Nate Frazier and Chris Cole all signed as members of the 2024 recruiting class. Gunner Stockton is in his fifth year at Georgia and second as a starter.
Georgia’s 2026 team will be an older team compared to the one the Bulldogs had last season. Consider that Georgia started the year with only 10 members of the 2022 class on the roster and 13 players from the 2023 recruiting class.
This year, that number is up to 29 when you combine the number of players from the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes on the Georgia roster. Georgia’s 2026 team will have 34 players with at least three years of experience in Athens. Last season, that number was just 25.
Part of the reason Georgia’s roster is a better reflection of its spending in 2026 is because it did a much better job of retaining talent with its 2024 class than it did with the 2023 group.
Going into last season, 13 of the 26 members of the 2023 recruiting class were no longer a part of the roster.
With the 2024 group, Georgia still has 23 of the 29 players it signed from the 2024 high school recruiting ranks. Georgia also has transfers London Humphreys and Xzavier McLeod entering their third seasons in Athens.
The gap between the two classes is particularly stark at the top. Georgia has not had just one of the 10 top 100 players it signed in the 2024 class depart the program before their third season in Athens. With the 2023 group, six of the 12 top-100 signees had already left Athens.
For as much fretting as there might about the state of Georgia’s current recruiting, the 2024 class was ranked first in the country. That collection of players, which Georgia has been able to keep together, is set to enter their season in Athens.
Georgia paid big to keep players like Bolden, Robinson and Frazier from entering the transfer portal. There was a kernel of truth when Smart ribbed Miami coach Mario Cristobal about sitting too close to Robinson at an award ceremony.
Robinson figures to be one of the best players in the country this coming season. We’ve often seen top recruits — CJ Allen and Monroe Freeling are examples from the 2023 class — have their best seasons in year three, before heading off to the NFL.
That is why it’s so important to keep recruiting classes together and retain talent on an annual basis. Georgia has done a better job with the 2024 class compared to the 2023 class to this point. That’s a big reason why there aren’t as many questions and concerns about Georgia this offseason compared to last offseason, even if it has made Georgia a bit boring to talk about from a national perspective.
Texas, Miami and LSU all spent big money to bring in new talent. With Georgia, it paid top dollar to keep its roster together. No SEC team had fewer players transfer out than Georgia’s 12. That offsets some concern about the Bulldogs also making the fewest additions in the transfer portal.
“We had some new guys on our roster,” Smart told Pate. “We had 26 new freshmen. We had eight new portals. So like with all that going on, we had new people. But at least we knew they were ours. And going through spring practice to me was much more enjoyable because you didn’t have this big dark cloud brewing of was he going to be here?”
Georgia still built a very successful team in 2025, as the Bulldogs won the SEC and made it back to the College Football Playoff. But Georgia has bigger goals and Smart knows it.
“Apparently, all we can do is win the SEC championship right now, so that’s not good enough,” Smart told Finebaum.
The Bulldogs are hoping that a more veteran team will set them up for even more success than they had a season ago. And that veteran element was acquired by keeping its one-time recruits in Athens for seasons three and four.
Georgia
A council meeting is called in a small Georgia town whose mayor fired the entire police department
COHUTTA, Ga. (AP) — The town council in a small north Georgia mountain community called a special meeting Friday evening to discuss reinstating the police department after the mayor fired the chief and all the officers.
The notice for the meeting, posted outside the Cohutta Town Hall, says the council will also consider a request for the mayor’s “immediate resignation.”
Another sign posted earlier this week in the town of about 930 people announced that the police department had been dissolved “per Mayor Ron Shinnick.” It told people who need help to call a non-emergency county number.
The jobs of the chief and about 10 officers were terminated as of Wednesday morning. Exact reasons haven’t been shared publicly, and townspeople are hoping to get some answers at Friday’s meeting.
Shinnick said he took action because of some comments officers posted on social media. The now-former Sgt. Jeremy May said it involved a complaint that he and other officers had raised about the mayor’s wife Pam Shinnick, who had served as the town clerk.
“This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor, and I wholeheartedly believe that,” May told WRCB-TV. “We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs.”
The now-former Cohutta Police Chief Greg Fowler told WRCB that he couldn’t comment in detail as the officers were clearing out the police department and removing equipment from the building this week. The mayor told the station he’s not sure what will happen next.
Phone calls and emails left Friday by The Associated Press for Shinnick and the town’s attorney were not immediately returned.
With no police officers working, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office said in a brief statement that deputies will help the townspeople if they need it. Cohutta, just south of the Tennessee line, is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta.
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