The European Commission announced the suspension of visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic passports.

The European Commission has launched a procedure to suspend visa-free travel for Georgian citizens holding diplomatic, service, and official passports under a new mechanism.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, in December 2025, the European Commission suggested that Georgia could face a complete suspension of its visa-free travel with the European Union due to the country's "systemic and targeted democratic rollback."

"The actions of the Georgian authorities undermine the principles on which visa liberalization is based," European Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said at a press conference on January 21. According to him, the European Commission has begun the process of suspending visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic, service, and official passports:

"The goal of visa liberalization is to strengthen contacts between people and promote shared values, including respect for human rights and democratic principles. "The European Commission believes that the actions of the Georgian authorities undermine these principles, are inconsistent with EU norms and values, and hinder the stable development of economic, humanitarian, cultural, scientific, and other ties between the European Union and Georgia," Lammert said on the European Union's official website.

"At this stage, the Commission has submitted its assessment to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. Once adopted, the decision to suspend visas for holders of diplomatic passports will be applied uniformly in all countries," Lammert stated.

The procedure does not yet apply to citizens with regular biometric passports, including diplomats traveling with regular passports. According to Lammert, the suspension mechanism consists of two stages: the first stage applies only to diplomatic passports, and then, if necessary, the measures can be extended to the general public.

On January 27, 2025, the EU already suspended visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic passports, although not all EU member states have ratified this decision, Jamnews notes.

"The measures adopted last year were based on a different legal basis. The advantage of the new legal basis is its greater flexibility and significantly greater speed. Previously, it was more of a recommendation, but now it can ensure uniform application," a European Commission spokesperson said.

It should be noted that on July 9, 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Georgia, which, in particular, emphasizes that Salome Zurabishvili is the legitimate president of Georgia. The document states that Georgia's European integration process is "effectively suspended" following ongoing democratic regression in Georgia and the falsification of the October 2024 parliamentary elections. The suspension of the visa-free regime with Georgia in response to the democratic regression and repression against pro-European protesters was discussed at a meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers' Council on July 15. Participants in the meeting notified Tbilisi of the conditions for continuing the visa-free regime.