The EU Council has suspended visa-free treatments for Georgian officials and diplomats starting Monday, Jan. 27.
In its press release, the EU Council also said Georgian officials and diplomats would need to apply for visas while traveling to EU member states, but the decision would not affect Georgian citizens holding standard passports.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Officials and diplomats would “no longer benefit from shorter application times, lower visa fees, and the possibility to submit fewer supporting documents,” the press release adds.
The EU Council cited Georgia’s “foreign agent” law and subsequent protests and crackdowns as the reason for the decision.
“The decision is a reaction to the adoption last year by Georgia of a ‘Law on transparency of foreign influence’ and a legislative package on ‘family values and protection of minors.’
“The EU considers that these legislations undermine the fundamental rights of the Georgian people, including the freedom of association and expression, the right to privacy, the right to participate in public affairs, and increases stigmatization and discrimination,” the press release says.
Tomasz Siemoniak, Polish minister of the interior and administration, said, “Officials that represent a country which trampled down these values should not benefit from easier access to the EU” in the press release.
Ukrainian Drones Hit Missile Arsenal, Key Russian Oil Facility in Russia’s Tver Region
What happened?
The visa-free revocation marked the latest fallout between Tbilisi and the West as Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, embraces a pro-Kremlin stance.
Tbilisi passed a controversial “foreign agents” law modeled after a similar bill in Russia in May 2024, which led to the EU halting the country’s accession talks and Tbilisi formally delaying the talks until at least 2028 in late 2024, each event accompanied by a series of protests.
Between those events, Georgia also held its parliamentary elections with controversial results, with the ruling Georgian Dream party subsequently appointing a far-right footballer as its next president, sparking more protests.
The “foreign agents” law – which took 67 seconds to pass without the participation of opposition lawmakers – requires groups to register as “organizations serving the interest of a foreign power” if more than 20% of their funding comes from abroad.
The Georgian Dream government, which holds an anti-Western stance, said the bill would prevent foreign actors from destabilizing the country. However, speculators and protestors have criticized the bill, saying it could undermine freedom of speech and information flow like in Russia.
The developments and resulting protests have also led to what the EU Council called Tbilisi’s “violent repression” of protestors, politicians and independent media, particularly during the protests against Tbilisi’s formal decision to delay EU accession talks.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
