Georgian Parliament Speaker denounces Lithuania's visa waiver suspension as breach of EU agreement

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday strongly criticised Lithuania's decision to suspend visa-free travel for Georgian citizens holding diplomatic and service passports, calling it a violation of international legal obligations and a breach of the 2010 agreement between the EU and Georgia.

In a social media message, Papuashvili emphasised the importance of the European Union and its member states adhering to their international legal obligations and upholding a rules-based international order.

“We must know that these decisions are a blatant and legally unfounded violation of the 2010 international agreement on the facilitation of the issuance of visas between the European Union and Georgia. It is important that the European Union and its member [states] respect their international legal obligations and a rules-based international order”, the Speaker said.

He further emphasised that under the 2010 agreement, visa-free travel was granted only to the elite of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili's dictatorial regime, while ordinary citizens were not enjoying visa-free travel for another seven years.

“Only in 2017, through the efforts of the [ruling] Georgian Dream Government, visa-free travel was opened for ordinary citizens as well”, he concluded.