Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said Wednesday that the European Union is effectively demanding that Tbilisi join sanctions against Russia if it wants to preserve visa-free travel with the bloc.
“They tell us that if we want visa-free travel, we must impose sanctions on Russia – in other words, commit suicide. If we destroy ourselves, who will travel to the EU without visas?” Papuashvili said.
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He also claimed Brussels is pushing Georgia to align its visa policy with EU standards.
His remarks come as the EU has put in place a new mechanism allowing it to suspend visa-free privileges for countries deemed to be backsliding on democratic standards.
The updated rules, which entered into force on Dec. 30, 2025, allow Brussels to first target holders of diplomatic and service passports before potentially expanding restrictions to all citizens.
Relations between Tbilisi and Brussels have sharply deteriorated in recent years.
In a report published last November, the European Commission said Georgia had significantly fallen behind on reforms expected of EU candidate countries.
It cited restrictions on civic freedoms, pressure on independent media, persecution of LGBTQ+ people, excessive use of force by police, and increasingly hostile rhetoric toward the European Union.
Following the report, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that Georgia’s path toward EU membership had effectively stalled and that the country would remain a candidate only in name unless it changed course.
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Despite the growing tensions, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that he believes the country can still be ready to join the European Union by 2030.
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