Georgian Parliament official claims European bureaucrats echoing Soviet, Russian style

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, on Wednesday expressed strong criticism of European bureaucrats, accusing them of increasingly resembling their Soviet and Russian counterparts.

Ionatamishvili’s remarks come amid discussions within the EU on simplifying the suspension mechanism of visa free travel.

In his remarks, Ionatamishvili noted that visa free travel to the EU was an issue that should bring people and countries closer together, adding that no one had the right to use this issue as a lever for blackmail.

“It is deeply unfortunate that European bureaucrats are becoming more and more like Soviet and Russian ones. If they continue this way, it will be very hard to see the difference between them”, the Parliament official said.

He further emphasised that while the fundamental principle of the visa free travel agreement remained unchanged, the current discussions focused on raising the criteria.

“Visa free travel is meant to bring people and countries closer together. No one has the right to use it as a tool of blackmail”, Ionatamishvili concluded.