Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday said, “Concrete politicians, who manipulate the issue of visa liberalization, are harming our country; this is a harmful action.”

Darchiashvili urged everyone to refrain from “political manipulations.”

“Today, no one is discussing restricting Georgia’s visa liberalisation. I urge everyone to refrain from political manipulation and avoid harming the nation, which obtained that great achievement with a lot of hard work, effort, and reforms.

Our yearly reports on fulfilling obligations follow precise guidelines and standards. In this area, Georgia has excellent outcomes, and no one will make moves in this regard.

We have seen numerous baseless and unjust resolutions, and this is another example. Only one resolution mentions visa-free travel, the irresponsible lawmakers who prioritise their political interests over our country’s European future,” the FM noted.

On 25 April, the European Parliament passed a joint resolution “On efforts to re-introduce the ‘Foreign Agents Law’ in Georgia and restrictions on civil society.” It envisages the release of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, the sanctioning of Bidzina Ivanishvili [GD founder],  the withdrawal of the draft law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, and the changes to the bill against LGBT propaganda.

The resolution calls on the Commission “to promptly assess the impact of Georgia’s planned ‘foreign agent’ law on Georgia’s continuous fulfilment of the visa liberalisation benchmarks, in particular the fundamental rights benchmark, a crucial component of the EU visa liberalisation policy.”