2024-09-20 21:18:48
The European Union may consider temporarily suspending the visa-free regime with Georgia if the October 26 parliamentary elections in the EU candidate country are not free, fair and peaceful, the bloc’s ambassador in Tbilisi said, Reuters reported.
Georgia’s relations with the West have soured in recent months, with the US and European countries accusing the Georgian government of authoritarian and pro-Russian tendencies.
“All options are on the table, including the temporary suspension of the visa-free regime with Georgia,” Pavel Herchinski, EU ambassador to Georgia, told reporters, BTA reported.
Georgian citizens can visit the Schengen area without visas for a period of up to 90 days since 2017, Reuters recalls.
If Georgia’s elections are not recognized as free and fair, Herczynski said, the EU could take measures similar to those it took against Belarus, an authoritarian ally of Russia that is under sanctions after the 2020 elections that Western countries and Belarusian opposition activists claim they were falsified.
Although the ruling Georgian Dream party says it wants the South Caucasus country to join both the EU and NATO, it has sought to deepen its relationship with Russia over the past two years, according to Reuters.
Billionaire and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is considered the most powerful man in Georgia, has accused the West of trying to drag his country into a war with Russia.
Last week, Ivanishvili suggested that Tbilisi apologize for a brief war with Russia in 2008 that led to Moscow recognizing two rebel-held Georgian regions, Georgian media reported.
The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December last year, but its membership bid was frozen after Tbilisi approved in June a law on foreign agents that the West says is authoritarian and inspired by Russia.
Western countries have also criticized the “family values” law approved by lawmakers this week, which restricts the rights of LGBT people.
Opinion polls show the ruling party remains the most popular political force, although it has lost ground since 2020, when it won a narrow majority.