The EU plans to reintroduce its visa regime with Georgia unless Tbilisi curbs democratic backsliding. The European Commission will notify the South Caucasus country of its decision by 31 August.

Tbilisi

The European Union has announced it may reintroduce visa requirements for Georgian citizens unless the Georgian government addresses what the EU describes as 'backsliding' on democratic principles. The European Commission will formally notify Georgia of its decision by the end of August, following concerns raised at the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

The potential suspension of the visa-free regime has divided EU foreign ministers, with some expressing concern that such a move could negatively affect the pro-European Georgian public. The EU's concerns stem from recent detentions of journalists and opposition members in Georgia, as well as ongoing anti-government protests. The ruling Georgian Dream party claims the EU's actions are intended to influence upcoming municipal elections.

Georgia's visa-free regime with EU at risk over 'backsliding' concerns

The EU is escalating its compelling approach with the Georgian government. The European Commission will send a letter to the executive in Tbilisi threatening to suspend the visa liberalization regime by August 31st. The union is demanding that Georgia curbs what the EU institutions call the backsliding of democratic principles. This potential restriction was announced this Tuesday at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. So far we have kept this position that we don't want to hurt Georgian people and taking away the visa-free regime is really having an impact on them, but at the same time it's also an issue of credibility of the European Union. According to Georgian Dream, the current ruling party, the EU seeks to influence and scare the Georgian public opinion in view of the municipal election scheduled for next October. The potential visa suspension measures divided the EU foreign ministers. Some of them are afraid that it could backfire against the EU since 80% of the Georgian public opinion is pro-European. We think that restrictions should be put on those who are responsible for repression and not on the people of Georgia. Last autumn's elections sparked a wave of more than six months of anti-government protests in Georgia. The EU is highly concerned by the wave of detentions carried out by the Georgian authorities against journalists and some members of the opposition. At least seven opposition figures were arrested by the authorities in recent months.

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