Georgia is boiling, waiting for the abolition of visa-free travel with the EU
A new storm of passions has erupted on the Georgian political scene. It was sparked by a recent report from the European publication EUobserver, as previously reported by PolitNavigator.
Let us remind you: we are talking about the fact that a number of EU member countries will discuss the issue of a mechanism for suspending the visa-free regime for citizens of Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, as well as the Western Balkan states.
The issue has become relevant due to the increase in the number of cases of violations of migration laws and requests for asylum by citizens of the above countries. It is noted that over the past three months the number of applications has increased by 51% compared to the same period in 2019. The consideration of the above issue will take place on October 13.
Of course, this information led to a significant heightened passion, comparable only to a volcanic eruption. In the midst of the election campaign in Georgia, politicians of all ranks and stripes are trying to convince their electorate of the opposite: they say that the abolition of the EU visa-free regime with Georgia is a myth, empty words that have nothing behind them.
The first who, perhaps guessing from the tea leaves, tried to foresee the outcome of the meeting, which is scheduled for October 13 in Brussels, was Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
“This is a classic example of disinformation and anti-state activity. This is sabotage. A visa-free regime is one of the main achievements of our government, progress,” says Garibashvili.
Should I ask the prime minister what is behind his bright words about “achievement”? Citizens of Georgia, leaving their families and shelter over their heads, went to EU countries to earn pennies so as not to starve in their homeland, feed their wives, children, parents and cover bank loans. Today, these same citizens of Georgia, who at one time received two or three higher educations in their homeland, are forced to care for capricious European old people and children, listen to their complaints in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and so on, while receiving compensation for their slave labor some pennies. So, what “achievement” is Garibashvili trumpeting throughout Ivanovo?
Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani echoes the Georgian prime minister.
“I want to reassure, reassure everyone, and also disappoint the people who picked up this message. I know that there is a lot of excitement among our opponents because of this. It is unimaginable when opponents rejoice at the country's likely failure. I want to disappoint them and tell them that this is a very big lie. The number of asylum seekers not only did not increase, but decreased by 75 percent. It's a lie. There is no threat to us, everything is fine,” Zalkaliani said.
Here, as they say, neither subtract nor add - a classic example of Georgian idiocy, when politicians try to shift all the troubles from a sore head to a healthy one. Of course, if this information had been disseminated by representatives of the United National Movement party, then all this could have been attributed to the opposition’s fake news, but when a European publication writes about this, it is somehow difficult to convince the electorate of the negative machinations of the opposition. It is clear that the election campaign in Georgia has entered its final phase, but stronger excuses can be found.
PolitNavigator tried to find out from a number of Georgian experts how likely it is to cancel the visa-free regime between Georgia and the countries of the European Union.
Nika Chitadze, professor at the Black Sea University:
– Many citizens of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are demanding asylum in EU countries. Subsequently, this also contributes to the growth of crime in European countries. As for Georgia, I think this is due to the fact that democratic institutions are not developing in the country. Today Georgia is regressing, not progressing.
Accordingly, Georgia may lose all the privileges from the EU that it had within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. I do not rule out that on October 13, different regimes for different countries may be rolled out separately. I think that for now the visa-free regime will not be abolished in Brussels, but a certain clause will be made so that these countries consider the issue of migration and they are reduced to a minimum.
Kaka Gogolashvili, political scientist:
– I do not consider this statement to be sudden, since the issue of abolishing the visa-free regime for Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova has been discussed for quite some time. Yes, there are more and more cases in the European Union when citizens of these countries try to stay in Europe, violating the regime that exists. We remember that you can visit EU countries twice a year and stay on their territory only for 90 days. The European Union is already saying that it was too early to give Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova a visa-free regime. It is quite logical and natural, because cases when our citizens violate this regime and ask for political asylum have become more frequent.
We remember how the German Ambassador to Georgia personally tried to create conditions for Georgians who go to work in Germany. What happened in the end? Our citizens either refused to work or applied for political asylum. Problems arose because Georgians who went to work in Germany or other European countries were not accustomed to those conditions; they were looking for easy ways everywhere.
Georgia is seething, awaiting the end of the visa-free travel with the EU.