End to visa facilitation for Georgian officials

Brussels – Said and done: it did not take the European Commission long to propose to the Council to suspend the visa liberalization regime for Georgian officials and diplomats, as requested by the member states themselves this week at the urging of EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas.

In a press release published this morning (Dec. 20), the EU executive has given notice that it has proposed the suspension of part of the agreement between Brussels and Tbilisi on the facilitation of the issuance of passports for Georgian officials and diplomats, who currently benefit from facilitated procedures for issuing entry permits to the EU and, for short stays (up to 90 days), do not need any visa.

The short-stay visa exemption will continue to apply for ordinary citizens of the Caucasian Republic, in line with Brussels’ “dual” approach to Georgia: support for the pro-EU civilian population on the one hand and stricter measures for the pro-Russian government on the other. Today’s proposal is part of the measures the 27 member states are (slowly) taking in response to the violent crackdown on dissent by security forces in Tbilisi supported by Georgian Dream, the ruling party in power since 2012.

The ball is now in the court of the EU Council, which should rule in favor since the policy discussion already took place at the foreign ministers’ meeting on Dec. 16. On that occasion, the qualified majority needed to mandate the Commission was reached without much difficulty, as the only countries against were Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and Robert Fico’s Slovakia (which however managed to block the imposition of EU sanctions on the leaders of Georgian Dream and police forces). Following the approval, it will be up to the individual chancelleries to “adopt the necessary measures” to follow up on the decision.