EU’s decision to suspend visa free for diplomatic passports to react to the foreign agents law appears somewhat off beat, the fifth President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, writes on the social platform X.
“EU’s decision to suspend visa free for diplomatic passports to react to the foreign agents law appears somewhat off beat. Georgia has since experienced worse: stolen elections, suspension of european path, mass protests, violent repressions. Forget old laws, call new elections!” - she wrote.
The European Council decided to suspend parts of the EU-Georgia visa facilitation agreement. This may lead to Georgian diplomats and officials having to apply for visa when travelling to the EU. For travels to a member state which has reintroduced visa requirements, Georgian diplomats and officials will no longer benefit from shorter application times, lower visa fees, and the possibility to submit fewer supporting documents.
The visa facilitation agreement will be suspended for the following categories: members of Georgia’s official delegations who participate in official meetings and other events held in the territory of an EU country by intergovernmental organisations; members of Georgia’s national and regional Governments and Parliaments, Georgia’s Constitutional Court and Supreme Court; holders of diplomatic passports; Georgian nationals who are holders of ordinary passports will continue to benefit from the visa exemption when travelling to the EU for short stays.
