Georgian Parliament official says no basis in nature for stopping visa liberalisation

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, on Thursday said the Government could boldly say that there was no basis “in nature” for suspending visa liberalisation.

Gorduladze’s comment followed the resolution presented in the European Parliament, where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on the European Union to suspend or limit visa-free travel for Georgia.

“Georgia is one of the leading countries that dares to say that decisions about my country should be made in my country. Along with other levers, a specific force chose visa liberalisation as one of the means, because it is important for the Georgian public. Now we have to prove in the Constitutional Court that the legislative amendments we have adopted serve precisely the purpose of ensuring that visa liberalization is not stopped. There is no legal basis for this.

“However, it is a good opportunity for political statements to be made by both Members of the European Parliament and various political positions and the country's leader, while at the same time the [TV] channels operating in our country prepare reports and agency representatives speak that if you want to travel freely, then refuse the Georgian Dream government and overthrow it. We can boldly say that there is no basis in nature for stopping visa liberalisation”, he concluded.