Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission, said, “So far we have kept this position that we don’t want to hurt Georgian people, and taking away the visa-free regime is really having an impact on them.”

“But at the same time, it’s also an issue of credibility of the European Union. If we have asked those things, and this is something beneficial or a bonus that we are giving to this country, they are not complying with these conditions, then there are also consequences, in order for the public also to see that the government is not on the European path and is not taking the candidacy status seriously,” Kallas continued.

“When it comes to the letter to Georgia, then, as you know, we have the free travel regime for Georgia since 2017. And, you know, this is a big benefit that the European Union is giving to countries. And, therefore, there are recommendations which have been addressed to Georgia in the 7th visa suspension mechanism report. And I will not read it all out here, but I’m just, you know, putting a point on this. For example, the obligations that the Georgian government has to ensure and uphold the protection of fundamental rights of all Georgian citizens, including the freedoms of association, assembly, and expression, the right to privacy, the right to participate in public affairs, as well as the prohibition of discrimination. This is just one point, and there are eight points like this. So the point being that as they have been giving a deadline until the end of August to comply with this, then the question is how do we then react if these recommendations have not been fulfilled. And as we hear that, for example, seven opposition leaders out of eight have been put in jail, this is not really in accordance with the first point that I pointed out,” she stated.