June 6, 2026 - The World Web Times - worldwebtimes.com

Georgian and European Union officials are scheduled to meet for a dialogue related to the suspension of the visa-free regime on June 11 amid continued warnings from Brussels that the measure currently targeting officials may extend to the entire country.

Rikard Jozwiak, Europe Editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), first reported about the planned dialogue on June 5, calling it an “important meeting about the possibility of suspending visa liberalisation,” with EU member countries expected to make a decision on the measure in January 2027 after the European Commission publishes its annual visa suspension report in December.

RFE/RL’s Georgian service later cited “one of the Brussels officials” as saying that the meeting aims to make Tbilisi understand that “things are serious,” with the outlet noting that the June 11 meeting is considered a “last warning.”

The Georgian Foreign Ministry confirmed to RFE/RL that the meeting will take place in Brussels on June 11 at the invitation of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), noting it is the first such meeting as part of the dialogue foreseen under EU Regulation 2018/1806 with the third country during the period of application of the suspension mechanism.

According to the Ministry, the Georgian delegation will be led by the head of the Ministry’s International Law, Consular and Diaspora Directorate and include “representatives of relevant Georgian structures.” RFE/RL said Giorgi Tabatadze is currently the head of the Foreign Ministry directorate.

(Article 8(6-a) of the Regulation states that “during the period of suspension, the Commission shall establish an enhanced dialogue with the third country concerned with a view to remedying the circumstances in question.”)

The outlet cited a EU official as telling RFE/RL’s Jozwiak about hopes that Georgia will send “an appropriate person” to allow for a possibility of a “constructive discussion,” citing last year’s postponed annual EU-Georgia Human Rights Dialogue, reportedly over concerns that the Georgian delegation included Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, sanctioned by several EU countries.

European Union member states voted in favor of suspending visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic passports in February, under the new legal mechanism that ensures EU-wide application, following the critical December 2025 EU Commission visa report. Citing Tbilisi’s “backsliding” on key commitments, the report warned of visa-free travel suspension, first to target Georgian diplomatic/service/official passport holders, with potential eventual application to the entire population.

The measure against the diplomatic passport holders took effect in March, with Brussels issuing guidelines warning stricter checks and entry bans if Georgian officials fail to use their diplomatic or service passports when travelling to the bloc for “official and diplomatic purposes.” Georgian officials have acknowledged that they had to obtain visas to travel to Europe.

Brussels started warning that Georgia may lose visa-free travel with the EU, a perk that the country’s citizens have enjoyed since 2017, amid Tbilisi’s anti-democratic and anti-Western turn. The suspension of visa-free travel was also considered as, unlike many EU sanctions, it requires only a qualified majority of member states, meaning it is less likely to be vetoed by Georgian Dream–friendly member countries.

While initial discussions centered on suspending visa-free travel for all Georgians, EU officials later shifted the focus to a targeted approach against a certain group of officials. Georgian Dream officials have repeatedly accused Brussels of using the visa-free regime as a “blackmail tool.”

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