The European Commission has suspended visa-free travel to the EU for Georgian diplomats and other holders of special passports, saying they must now apply for Schengen visas before entering member states.
The Commission described the step as a response to what it called “Georgia’s deliberate and persisting violation” of its commitments to democracy and fundamental rights. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that “if a government attacks its own people, silences journalists, and curtails freedom, there are consequences.”
The decision follows months of unrest after the Kremlin-friendly Georgian Dream party claimed victory in the 2024 elections. Large protests, mass arrests and reports of police violence have shaken the country. Kallas reiterated the EU’s backing for the Georgian public while stressing that those seen as enforcing repression have no place in the union.
Ordinary Georgian citizens with standard biometric passports remain eligible for visa-free short stays in the Schengen area; the restriction applies only to diplomats and other special-passport holders. The EU said the suspension will run for one year and can be extended by up to two additional years if Tbilisi does not address the political and rights concerns. The Georgian government did not immediately comment.
A number of EU states had already taken similar measures: in the previous year, 19 of the 27 member countries had individually suspended visa privileges for some Georgian officials. Tbilisi’s foreign ministry warned such moves could “worsen rather than improve” relations with the EU. The Commission’s action now standardizes the restriction across all member states.
Observers note the measure comes amid a broader shift in Georgia’s trajectory: stronger economic engagement with Russia and a turn toward more authoritarian domestic policies contrast with the country’s earlier reputation as a pro-Western democracy emerging from the Soviet era.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic