Why does EU postpone liberalization of visas with Georgia?

The European Union has recently decided to postpone lifting the visa regime with Georgia for some time. In particular, France and Germany – the leaders of Europe – were among those who were against the visa-free regime between the EU and Georgia.

"We do not want to stop the entire process. We just want to be more careful," Reuters cites diplomatic sources.

It is expected that European diplomats will return to the Georgian issue next week before the beginning of negotiations on liberalization with Ukraine.

The head of the Institute of Management and Strategy Peter Mamradze  speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza first of all drew attention to the fact that the population of the European Union countries has negative attitude towards the visa-free regime for citizens of other countries who travel to the EU.

"European parliamentarians are well aware of the people's position, which makes it difficult to make a decision on the liberalization. The fears of EU citizens are primarily related to the regions from where, in their opinion, may come terrorists, radical Muslims and others. On the one hand, there might be terrorists among more than one million refugees migrating to the EU. On the other hand, with some states the association agreement has already been signed and trade ties established. Georgian politicians try to explain the situation by arguing that someone is sick, someone missed the session and didn't take part in the voting process, but I do not think it is the reason. Moreover, representatives of some countries are openly in favor of postponing the liberalization for the sake of safety," the analyst said.

He also noted that the news will have no significant effect on the elections. "Certainly, Saakashvili's supporters, especially the group of Alasania, the Republicans will say that if the Georgian Dream coalition was truly pro-Western they would have got the liberalization. We will hear such comment. But these parties have an extremely low rating to make any difference with black PR. Moreover, it will be unfair and people understand it,'' Peter Mamradze noted.

A member of the 'Expert Club of Georgia' Vakhtang Maisaya believes that the approaching parliamentary elections is the reason behind the decision by the EU to postpone the liberalization of visa regime with Georgia. "It should have been expected. I am not surprised because parliamentary elections are to take place soon in Georgia. Certainly, everybody is waiting for the results. According to the European Parliament, Georgia should pass another test that will determine the level of democratic development. I hope that after the elections this issue will be fully resolved," he explained.

The expert noted that this decision by the EU may significantly affect the mood in the Georgian society, especially in the context of a possibility of Georgia joining NATO.

"Some in Georgia may become pessimistic towards the European Union and European integration. And it is a very sad fact. The visa liberalization was widely discussed, it was one of the key factors why the EU seemed attractive to the Georgian society,'' Maisaya told 'VK'.

The head of the Center for Security Studies and International Relations Nika Chitadze reminded that the EU is not a single state, but an international regional organization.

"It is not one state, it consists of 28 EU member states. Respectively, the decision on the issue of visa liberalization should be made through consensus.  It is not very easy for 28 countries to reach a consensus. There are countries that require certain guaranties in order to introduce a visa-free regime for citizens of Georgia,'' he said.