A meeting within the framework of the visa dialogue between the European Union and Georgia will be held in Brussels on June 11, amid ongoing discussions regarding the possible suspension of Georgia’s visa-free travel regime with the EU.
The information was first reported by the head of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Europe bureau, Rikard Jozwiak, who said on social media that an “important meeting” would take place to discuss the potential suspension of visa liberalization for Georgia.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed the meeting, stressing that it is being held within the framework of procedures established by the European Union’s visa suspension mechanism.
Ministry says under Article 8e(9) of EU Visa Regulation 2018/1806, during the operation of the suspension mechanism, the European Commission is required to initiate a dialogue with the relevant third country.
The ministry said that, at the invitation of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, the first meeting of the dialogue between Georgia and the European Commission will take place in Brussels on June 11.
The Georgian delegation will include representatives of relevant state agencies and will be led by the Director of the Directorate for International Legal, Consular and Diaspora Affairs of the Foreign Ministry.
The meeting comes as relations between Brussels and Tbilisi remain strained, with EU institutions and several member states expressing concerns over democratic backsliding, the adoption of controversial legislation, and the country’s overall compliance with commitments linked to the visa-free travel regime.
Georgian citizens have enjoyed visa-free travel to the European Union’s Schengen Area since March 2017. In recent months, EU officials have repeatedly warned that continued non-compliance with certain democratic and rule-of-law standards could lead to the activation of the bloc’s visa suspension mechanism.
