A new survey by CRRC-Georgia reveals that most Georgians would hold the ruling Georgian Dream party and its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, responsible if the European Union suspends Georgia’s visa-free travel regime.
The survey was conducted by CRRC Georgia on August 8–12, 2025, commissioned by the Civil Society Foundation with financial support from the European Union. Using the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) method, researchers surveyed 1,333 randomly selected respondents, representative of the Georgian-speaking adult population, with a margin of error of 1.56%.
Who would be blamed?
When asked who would be primarily responsible for a potential suspension:
- Georgian Dream / Ivanishvili – 51%
- EU – 13%
- Opposition – 5%
- Russia – 1%
- United States – 1%
- Other – 3%
- Don’t know – 24%
- Refusal to answer – 2%
Demographic insights
- Younger citizens (18–34) are more likely to blame Georgian Dream/Ivanishvili than older groups.
- Tbilisi residents place more responsibility on the ruling party compared to citizens in other regions.
Public opinion on EU membership
Support for Georgia’s accession to the EU remains high:
- Fully support – 58%
- Rather support – 20%
- Rather do not support – 6%
- Do not support at all – 7%
- Don’t know – 7%
- Refusal to answer – 2%
By age group:
- 18–34 years – 86% support
- 35–54 years – 76% support
- 55+ years – 71% support
Support is nearly identical across genders, though it is stronger in Tbilisi than in rural areas.
Impact of a visa-free suspension
- 78% of Georgians believe suspending visa-free travel would harm Georgian citizens.
