Georgian political analysts associate postponement of visa-free regime with EU problems

The EU has postponed until the autumn the issue of liberalization of visa regime for Georgia because of the problem of migrants in Europe. This opinion was voiced by political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". The Georgian authorities have expressed their support for Germany and hope that the EU will cancel a visa regime for Georgian citizens until the end of the year.

On June 27, 2014, the Prime Minister of Georgia signed the EU association agreement, which provided the Georgia's entry to the EU free trade zone. The European Commission has also recommended introducing changes to the EU visa regulations concerning Georgian citizens at the beginning of 2016.

The current postponement is not connected with Georgia, and the cause is in the Europe's problems. This opinion was expressed by Bakur Kvashelava, Dean of the Faculty of Politics and Law of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.

In turn, Tornike Sharashenidze, an expert of the "International Centre for Geopolitical Studies", believes that the postponement of the decision on cancellation of visa regime for Georgian citizens may also be related to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia.

"The European Union intends to use this issue as a sole lever of pressure on the Georgian authorities and to obtain guarantees for holding of elections in a democratic way," Tornike Sharashenidze has noted.

Let us remind you that the elections to the Georgian Parliament are scheduled for October 8, 2016, and the election campaign was launched on June 8.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.