“On January 27, the Council of the EU decided to suspend the validity of certain parts of the visa facilitation agreement between Georgia and the EU. Source: “European Truth”, message of the Council of the EU Details: The visa-free regime has been suspended for Georgian diplomats and officials.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
On January 27, the Council of the EU decided to suspend the validity of certain parts of the visa facilitation agreement between Georgia and the EU.
Source: “European truth”, message of the Council of the EU
Details: The visa-free regime has been suspended for Georgian diplomats and officials.
“Fundamental rights and democratic values are key principles of EU integration. Officials who represent a country that despises these values should not benefit from simplified access to the EU,” said Tomasz Semoniak, Minister of the Interior and Administration of Poland, which presides over Council of the EU.
For trips to EU member states, as explained in the Council of the European Union, Georgian diplomats and officials will also no longer be able to use shorter application processing times, lower visa fees and the ability to submit fewer supporting documents.
The validity of the Visa Facilitation Agreement will be suspended for the following categories of persons:
- members of official delegations of Georgia who participate in official meetings and other events held on the territory of the EU country by intergovernmental organizations;
- members of the national and regional governments and parliaments of Georgia, the Constitutional and Supreme Courts of Georgia;
- holders of diplomatic passports.
Citizens of Georgia who are holders of ordinary passports will continue to enjoy the visa-free regime during short-term trips to the EU.
It was previously reported that Slovakia and Hungary opposed the adoption of these sanctions, but this did not affect the outcome, as only a qualified majority is required for the decision.
The suspension of the visa-free regime for holders of diplomatic passports of Georgia will be rather symbolic, since Georgian officials have, in addition to diplomatic, ordinary passports. And visa-free will continue to apply for them.
The new restrictions are a reaction to Georgia’s anti-Western turn, which the Georgian authorities have intensified in the past year. The culmination was the refusal to raise the issue of negotiations on joining the EU before the beginning of 2029.