Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has called the European Union Foreign Affairs Council’s recommendation to suspend visa-free travel for diplomatic passport holders an “anti-Georgian move.”
Speaking at a press conference, Kobakhidze stated that while the recommendation is mostly symbolic, it undermines the credibility of European structures in the eyes of Georgian society.
“I would like to respond to yesterday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council’s decision. The only recommendation issued by the Council pertains to initiating procedures for imposing a visa regime on holders of diplomatic passports.
“Although this recommendation is largely symbolic, it must be assessed as an unambiguously anti-Georgian step that erodes the trust of Georgian society in European structures. Such decisions result in the continuous devaluation of these institutions in the perception of our people, which is a serious problem.
“Decisions like these contribute to the declining trust of Georgian society in European institutions,” Kobakhidze stated.
On December 16, EU Foreign Ministers discussed the political situation in Georgia at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting. Rikard Jozwiak, RFE/RL’s Europe editor, reported that the Council failed to reach the necessary unanimity to sanction Georgian Dream officials, but it did ask the European Commission to prepare an official document on suspending visa liberalization for Georgians holding diplomatic passports, which requires only a qualified majority.
