EU weighs suspending Georgia’s visa-free regime
Georgia’s visa-free regime suspension
The European Commission is closely examining the actions of the Georgian government and may, if necessary, decide to trigger the mechanism for suspending visas.
This was reported by the outlet European Pravda.
On 31 August, the Georgian authorities submitted a response to a letter sent on 14 July by the European Commission to Georgia’s ambassador in Brussels. The Commission will assess the measures taken and their compliance with its recommendations as part of the next visa suspension report.
Brussels still expects the Georgian authorities “to take concrete steps to address the issues raised in all of the Commission’s recommendations.”
In mid-June 2025, it emerged that the Commission was considering suspending Georgia’s visa-free regime because of what it called a “serious backsliding” on democracy. To prevent this, the Commission published a set of recommendations, giving Tbilisi until 31 August to respond. The Georgian Dream government submitted its report on the very last day. In the 55-page response, the government insisted it was “demonstrating a firm commitment to European integration.”
A source in Brussels told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on condition of anonymity that the responses were “unsubstantiated” and did not fully address the Commission’s concerns.
“In the case of prolonged non-compliance, and following an assessment, the Commission may decide to activate the visa suspension mechanism,” a Commission spokesperson told European Pravda.
He added that only last week the Georgian authorities had taken “another step against democracy” by freezing the bank accounts of several NGOs — a move that could be seen as an attack on fundamental rights and the use of the judiciary as a tool of repression. The EU has called on the Georgian government to immediately reverse the decision.
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