Georgian Parliament Speaker: EU visa-free travel issue exploited to impact Georgia’s domestic politics

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said that the issue of visa-free travel with the European Union was used to influence the political choices of the Georgian people, further pointing out that it was an instrument of external interference in Georgia's internal politics.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that when Brussels behaved anti-democratically, it deviated from the principles of the European Union.

“The visa issue has been used to influence the political choice of the Georgian people. Accordingly, this is an instrument of external interference in Georgia’s domestic politics, which is a prohibited action. Among other things, it is prohibited under UN regulations. This is a hostile act against Georgia, and those involved in this matter are accomplices in this hostile activity, including Georgian citizens”, Papuashvili noted.

“When Brussels behaves anti-democratically, it strays from the principles of the European Union. The only thing we can do is call on them to return to the principles of the EU, to European values; otherwise, who, if not us, the people who experienced the Soviet Union, know and see where Brussels is heading along this path. It is going straight backward - to the Soviet Union”, he concluded.