Visas by water: EU imposes restrictions on Georgian officials
The European Union has canceled visa-free travel for Georgian officials and diplomats and is preparing additional restrictions. The new American administration has not yet decided on its attitude towards the Transcaucasian region, which is why it sends contradictory signals. In such circumstances, the Georgian authorities have become more active in developing relations with Eastern countries. Thus, a large delegation of the ruling party held talks with the leadership of the UAE. Details - in the material of "Izvestia".
EU canceled visa-free travel for Georgian officials
The Council of the European Union canceled visa-free entry for holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports. A special statement says that the decision concerns members of official Georgian delegations, as well as representatives of national and regional governments and parliaments, judges of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts and employees of the Foreign Ministry of the country.
Brussels, meanwhile, explained that it was dissatisfied with the Georgian authorities' recent actions, including the crackdown on protesters in Tbilisi and the adoption of scandalous laws on foreign agents and family values. "Further, EU Member States may adopt national measures on the application of visa requirements," the EU Council emphasized.
Interestingly, Hungary and Slovakia opposed the return of visas. This, however, did not affect the result, because in this case unanimous support was not required, a simple majority was enough. After the vote, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Budapest would not implement the decision. "It is time for the bureaucrats in Brussels and the Soros networks to stop attacking the Georgian government," he said.
Representatives of the Georgian authorities at the same time note that the decision is largely symbolic in nature, because all officials and diplomats have ordinary general civilian passports, and they can still be used to enter the EU without a visa. "This is a technical, symbolic issue. For us, the main thing is that there is no threat to peace in the country, the interests of society, our people. We can travel to the EU with or without a visa, it does not matter," said Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
It is interesting that the decision of Brussels was met with no enthusiasm by representatives of the Georgian opposition. For example, former President Salome Zurabishvili drew attention to the fact that the EU Council statement says nothing about the parliamentary and presidential elections held in Georgia at the end of last year. "Forget the old laws, demand the appointment of new elections," she urged.
The US is sending contradictory signals
In parallel, relations between Georgia and the EU are becoming more complicated on other fronts. Thus, at the end of January, the PACE winter session is taking place in Strasbourg, and a number of MEPs have raised the issue of suspending the powers of the Georgian delegation because the democratic order is allegedly violated in the Transcaucasian republic. The decisive vote on this issue is expected to take place on January 29.
The building of the U.S. Department of State
Tbilisi's relations with the United States also remain complicated. On the one hand, the State Department has frozen all aid programs to other countries for three months, including government support for numerous NGOs and NGOs. Georgian authorities have long claimed that these very structures not only sway the situation in the country, but also help the political opposition to organize protests.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze said in this regard that he welcomed Washington's decision. "We have been saying for a long time that the funds coming into our country are being spent in a non-targeted way, in fact, we were talking about direct financing of revolutionary processes and swaying the sovereignty. That is why we adopted the law on transparency (on foreign agents. - Ed.). We were criticized for this, and now the words are actually confirmed," he said.
On the other hand, the ruling party has not yet established direct contacts with the new American administration. Thus, none of the Georgian Dream representatives were invited to the inauguration of Donald Trump. However, former president and oppositionist Salome Zurabishvili attended the ceremony. During the festivities she talked with Marco Rubio, who was a candidate for the post of Secretary of State at the time, and now has already taken this position.
Former Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting in Washington, D.C.
An additional alarming signal for the ruling Georgian party is the activity of some prominent Republican functionaries. For example, Congressman Joe Wilson has been very active. In mid-January, together with his Democratic colleague Steve Cohen, he introduced into Congress a law on non-recognition of the Georgian government. Later he called on "all free and democratic governments" to refuse to meet with Georgian authorities and threatened former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili with new sanctions.
In such circumstances, the Georgian authorities are developing activity in other directions and are working more closely with regional neighbors and eastern countries. Thus, in mid-January, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made his first foreign visit to Azerbaijan after the elections, where he met with President Ilham Aliyev. Following the talks, the head of the Georgian government said that relations between Baku and Tbilisi are steadily developing and can be an example for other countries.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku. January 17, 2025
In late January, representatives of Tbilisi missed for the first time the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, but visited the United Arab Emirates, where they met with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During the talks, the parties signed a memorandum that suggests that the Arab developer Emaar Group will invest $6 billion in Georgia, including the construction of "multifunctional infrastructure" in Tbilisi, Batumi and the Black Sea village of Gonio.
What experts think
Georgian political scientist Zaal Anjaparidze believes that it is too early to talk about turning the country to the East.
- Now the Georgian authorities are going for any international contacts in order to somehow compensate for the western isolation. Globally, the bet is still on interaction with Trump's team. If he agrees to work with the "Georgian Dream" government, European countries will also pull up, because they are used to acting in the American way. If this does not happen, the crisis in relations with the West will be long-term," he argues.
Vadim Mukhanov, head of the Caucasus sector of IMEMO RAS, notes that Georgia has been pursuing a multi-vector policy for quite a long time.
- I would not speak about a sharp turn to the East, in fact Tbilisi has been pursuing a multi-vector policy for a long time. It is enough to remember that Irakli Kobakhidze made a multi-day visit to China before being appointed as Prime Minister a year ago. It was both a certain lookout and confirmation of Tbilisi's serious interest in the eastern direction. Now it is also a certain message to Europe, to which the Georgian authorities make it clear that they have alternative partners," he says.
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