Can the EU suspend the visa regime for Georgia? Expert opinion
Visa-free regime for Georgia and EU
In order to suspend the visa-free regime between Georgia and the European Union, a simple majority of EU countries is sufficient, according to Kakha Gogolashvili, the Director of EU Studies at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Foundation).
The suspension of the visa-free regime is one of the measures the European Union intends to take if Georgia adopts a “foreign agents law.” However, Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze claims that there is no mechanism for canceling the visa-free regime, and even to initiate this issue, the consent of all 27 EU member states is required. According to deputy prime minister Tea Tsulukiani, the suspension of the visa-free regime is “unthinkable and impossible due to the procedure.”
Kakha Gogolashvili stated, “Senior government officials are spreading misinformation that the consent of [all] EU member states is necessary to cancel the visa-free regime, which is almost impossible. In fact, the consent of the majority of member states [15 out of 27 countries] and the European Commission is sufficient to suspend the visa-free regime for nine months, and after reviewing the issue (if there are grounds) – for another 18 months.
In recent years, using the same mechanism, the visa-free regime has been suspended for Albania and Vanuatu, as well as the simplified visa regime for Russia and Belarus.
The formal reasons for suspending the visa-free regime through this mechanism are the influx of migrants and asylum seekers, security problems for member states, and the increase in crimes committed by citizens of these countries within the EU. At this point, Georgia has sufficiently violated these provisions in relation to Germany, Belgium, and several other countries.
Therefore, with the political will, any of these member states can initiate the procedure if the Georgian government continues to deviate from democracy and test the patience of the European Union.”
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution regarding the draft law “on foreign agents” in Georgia. In this resolution, the European Parliament calls on the European Commission and EU member states to reconsider sanctions against the Georgian oligarch and founder of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, as well as to review Georgia’s visa-free regime with EU countries.
Additionally, the European Parliament requests that negotiations on Georgia’s accession to the EU not begin until this draft law is withdrawn.
