The EU suspends the exemption of visas for Georgian diplomats

The EU suspends the exemption of visas for Georgian diplomats

The European Union has decided to suspend the exemption from the visa for Georgian officials in possession of a diplomatic passport. The move, approved by the EU Foreign Affairs Council, was decided in response to the violent repression of pro-EU protests in Georgia. The measure aims to hit the main Georgian political exponents without imposing a punishment for ordinary citizens.

The party in power, Georgian dream, declared the victory in the October elections which, according to the opposition, were affected by plague. In November, the announcement of the government to suspend the interviews of adhesion to the EU until 2028 caused popular protests, even violent, which were harshly repressed.

Away the exemption

The visa facilitation agreement will be suspended for members of the official Delegations of Georgia who participate in official meetings and other events organized in the territory of an EU country from intergovernmental organizations, for members of the national and regional governments and parliaments of the Georgia, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Georgia and for the owners of diplomatic passports. Georgian citizens holding ordinary passports will continue to benefit from the exemption from the visa when they go to the EU for short stays.

The decision, reads a note from the Council, is also the response to the adoption by the Georgia of the law “on the transparency of foreign flu” and a legislative package on the “family values ​​and the protection of minors”. “The EU believes that these legislation minus the fundamental rights of the Georgian people, including freedom of association and expression, the right to privacy, the right to participate in public affairs, and increase stigmatization and discrimination”, continues the note of the EU Council.