"Repeal repressive laws, protect rights" - European Commission pressures Georgian Dream, visa-free regime at risk
The EU threatens to suspend the visa-free regime with Georgia
The Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission has sent an official letter to Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding updated information on the country’s progress in fulfilling the EU’s recommendations.
If the recommendations have not yet been implemented, the letter calls on the government to take immediate action.
In response to what the EU calls a “serious backsliding” of democracy in Georgia, the European Commission is considering suspending the visa-free travel regime for Georgian citizens.
Brussels also demands the repeal of controversial laws adopted over the past year and urges the ruling Georgian Dream party to ensure the protection of citizens’ rights.
The letter notes that due to the government’s failure to take adequate measures, the EU suspended visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic and service passports starting January 2025 – a step already supported by 12 EU member states.
The EU’s key demands outlined in the letter include:
- Protect fundamental rights of all Georgian citizens, including freedom of assembly, expression, and association, the right to privacy, participation in public life, and freedom from discrimination.
- Prevent and repeal laws that restrict basic freedoms, violate the principle of non-discrimination, or contradict EU and international standards — specifically, repeal the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence and the so-called Family Values and Child Protection legislative package.
- Revise the National Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan to fully protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.
- Align Georgia’s visa policy with the EU’s list of countries requiring visas, particularly those posing security or illegal migration risks.
- Tighten controls on unfounded asylum applications and illegal stays in the EU, through awareness campaigns and stricter border enforcement.
- Establish asset recovery offices and continue work on detecting, freezing, managing, confiscating, and disposing of criminal assets.
- Adopt a new anti-corruption strategy and action plan, allocate sufficient resources, and ensure prosecution and sentencing in high-level corruption cases.
- Amend the Law on the Anti-Corruption Bureau in line with the Venice Commission’s recommendations, particularly regarding its independence and political neutrality.
- Align Georgia’s personal data protection laws with EU legal standards.
In addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the letter was also addressed to Minister of Internal Affairs Gela Geladze and EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński.
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