On May 8, in Brussels, the European Union member states ambassadors once again discussed the issue of Georgia and deliberated on potential measures they might take against Georgia in case of the adoption of the so-called Agents Russian Law. As Rikard Jozwiak, editor of RFE/RL's European Bureau says, Suspension of visa liberalization is not excluded.
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“EU ambassadors discussed Georgia again yesterday, including potential measures in case the foreign agent law is adopted. Suspending visa liberalisation cannot be ruled out. All things on the table,” Jozwiak writes in social network X.
According to the journalist, 26 member countries of the European Union expressed concern about the current situation in Georgia, while the 27th member, Hungary, remained silent.
“There could be an EU statement coming soon and possibly an update from the Commission on how the foreign agents law relates to EU accession criteria,” Rikard Jozwiak notes.
In addition, he reports that EU ambassadors have "given the green light" to allocate 30 million euros to purchase non-lethal military aid for Georgia.
On April 25, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Commission to immediately assess the impact of the Russian Law on Georgia's fulfillment of visa liberalization criteria, particularly fundamental rights, which are a crucial component of visa liberalization policy. The resolution is not binding.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili, stated that "no one is discussing stopping visa-free traffic," except for a specific resolution and a group of "irresponsible" politicians who "are not interested in the European future of our country." Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also assessed the record of visa liberalization, saying that "it comes at a straw price."
The European Parliament supported the implementation of the visa-free regime for Georgian citizens on February 2, 2017. The decision came into force on March 28 of the same year.
On April 3, 2024, Georgian Dream once again initiated the Russian law on so-called Foreign Agents in parliament. This law had been withdrawn a year ago due to thousands of protests, with a promise to never accept it again. The Russian Law requires independent media and non-governmental organizations that operate with grant support from international funds and cannot be controlled by the government or related groups to register as foreign agents.
Despite public protests and international appeals, Georgian Dream did not withdraw the draft law from parliament, and it has already passed in two readings. The final hearing is scheduled for the week of May 13.
