Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to Georgia, emphasized that Germany and the European Union do not wish to halt visa liberalization for Georgian citizens travelling to the Schengen area. However, he acknowledged that future developments are uncertain, noting that, according to the decisions made by the Foreign Relations Council and the European Council, “all options are on the table.”

” I don’t know whether it’s a possible scenario. It depends on how things develop. By the decision of the Foreign Affairs Council and the European Council, all options are on the table. How it will develop we don’t know, we don’t want to suspend it. We welcome Georgian people to come visa-free to the Schengen space. That’s why the Schengen space decided to open it for the Georgians. We want students to come, we want tourists to come, good tourists, we want anyone who wants to come. You’re very welcome.

So it will all depend on the future development. The EU is Georgia’s partner. It has been a very good partner for 30 years. Germany is a member state of the EU, we are their largest member state. We have also been a very good partner to Georgia for 30 years. We would like to continue to be a good partner, but partnership takes two sides. I think that’s all I have to say about it,” he said.

Addressing the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 26, Fischer stated that the elections are for the Georgian people to decide what kind of government they want.

“We have said, speaking for Germany, speaking for myself, we have said over and over again, this election is not for us. This election is for the Georgian people. You have to make up your mind. This is really none of our business. You can choose whatever government you want. You can pass whatever laws you want. When we do say something, it’s because Georgia applied to be a member of the EU. So, we have a duty to say what’s good for this application and what’s not good. That’s what we speak about. All the rest, Georgians go vote, make up your minds of what you want. We hope we can continue our friendship and partnership. This is really up to the members of parliament. I’m an ambassador, I can speak for the government. Member of parliament will make up their own mind.

I can tell you that there is a great concern in the German Bundestag, across a broad segment, a very broad segment of the political factions, and the concern is that this 30-year-old partnership, potentially leading to EU membership, which we’re interested in, which we are still offering, is at risk because of the current development,” the Ambassador declared.