EU Confirms Possible Suspension of Visa-Free Travel for Georgia

The European Union considers the suspension of the visa-free regime for Georgian citizens in response to the anti-democratic actions of the Georgian government and its anti-Western rhetoric. This follows from a comment by a representative of the European Commission for Politico, eurointegration.com.ua reported. A representative of the EU’s executive body confirmed that if the party in power Georgian Dream continues its authoritarian course, all options for response are possible, “including a potential temporary suspension of the visa liberalization scheme.” “Within the framework of the visa liberalization dialogue between the EU and Georgia and the corresponding Action Plan, Georgia was required to achieve specific indicators, in particular ensuring the protection of fundamental rights and prevention of discrimination,” he added. The interlocutor of Politico noted that in the event of the development of “events that pose a risk to the internal security of the Schengen area, as well as in the event of further decline of democracy in Georgia,” an appropriate assessment will be made. According to the terms of the visa-free agreement concluded in 2017, citizens of Georgia can visit the EU countries that are part of the Schengen zone for up to six months a year without visas. Confirmation that Brussels is considering such measures comes after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said this week that any changes to the visa deal would be “cheap blackmail”. We shall remind you that after the Georgian parliament adopted the scandalous law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”, which is compared to the Russian law on “foreign agents”, the EU summit said that this effectively suspends the process of Georgia’s European integration. On 17 September, the Georgian parliament adopted in the third reading a legislative package on “family values and protection of under-ages”, known as “laws against LGBT propaganda”, which was criticized in the EU and the Council of Europe. It should be noted that respect for minorities is one of the criteria of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan.