EU ministers approve suspending visa-free travel for Georgian diplomats
ReutersJAN 18
EU Suspends Visa-Free Travel for Georgian Diplomats and Officials
Above: Protestors gather demonstrating against the suspension of Georgia's EU accession negotiations for four years continue in the capital, Tbilisi on Jan. 23, 2025. Image copyright: Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
EU ministers have finally stepped in to support the people of Georgia and hold to account those in Tbilisi that are responsible for the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations, as well as for moves that could undermine democratic freedoms in the country.
Establishment-critical narrative
This largely symbolic and ineffective decision only shows that hypocrisy runs high in Brussels. The very EU that is now punishing Georgian authorities for nonsensical claims of democratic regress also granted visa-free travel for diplomats of the authoritarian and corrupt Saakashvili regime.