“The visa suspension mechanism is a horizontal measure that applies to all countries that have a visa-free regime with the EU,” the European Commission’s spokesperson, Markus Lammert, has stated.

According to him, the European Commission has expressed concerns regarding human rights violations in Georgia.

“The Commission will assess the measures taken by Georgia and their compliance with the recommendations that we’ve put out in the context of the next visa suspension report. We have raised concerns about serious breaches of fundamental rights and freedoms in Georgia, and we have also issued recommendations regarding the visa-free regime.

The visa suspension mechanism is a horizontal measure that applies to all countries that have a visa-free regime with the EU. We welcome the adoption by the European Parliament earlier this week of the new rules on the visa suspension mechanism that we proposed in 2023. This follows a political agreement earlier this year, and it’s now for the Council to also endorse the agreement before it can enter into force.

The visa suspension mechanism can already now be applied in case of a sudden influx of irregular migration, lack of readmission cooperation, or security risks. And now, the new rules introduce new grounds for activation. These include, for example, a lack of alignment of visa policy, investor-citizenship schemes, but also hybrid threats, and the instrumentalization of migration, and the deterioration of EU external relations with a third country. This can include, for example, grave violations of fundamental freedoms and also serious breaches of international legal standards.

In summary, the new rules will allow for swifter and more decisive action when it comes to visa suspension. And with the new grounds to suspend the visa-free regime, there will be swifter and more flexible procedures. But again, this is a horizontal measure that applies to all countries that have a visa-free regime with the EU,” Markus Lammert concluded.