The EU Embassy appears to acknowledge and adhere to the Vienna Convention. Now, the only remaining step is to read the first paragraph of Article 41, which states that diplomats must not interfere in the internal affairs of the host country, said Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili.

According to Papuashvili, both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs clarified that the incident involving a member of the EU delegation was the result of a technical error.

“An explanation was provided by both ministries that it was a technical issue. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed concern to the EU Delegation, clarifying that the individual in question can enter the country at any time. I welcome the fact that the EU Embassy acknowledged a violation of the Vienna Convention. It is indeed the responsibility of the host country to ensure the free movement of accredited diplomats. I’m pleased to see that the EU Embassy recognizes the Vienna Convention. The next step is to read Article 41, paragraph one, which obliges diplomats not to interfere in internal matters. If this is also read and observed, we can expect a harmonious coexistence under the Vienna Convention. It was made clear immediately that this was a technical oversight, a flaw, for which we did not hesitate to apologize, and the issue has since been resolved,” Papuashvili said.

The EU Delegation to Georgia confirmed that on May 21, its member Simon Vanderbroek was denied entry at Tbilisi Airport. They stated that a diplomatic note was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that the Georgian authorities issued a verbal apology.

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also commented, explaining that the incident was due to a technical misunderstanding, which has now been resolved.