Georgian Ambassador to the EU Pavel Gerchinski told reporters that suspending the visa-free regime with the EU is one option for responding to the Georgian government's actions, but this measure does not enjoy broad support from member states.
"The reason is simple: we do not want ordinary people to pay for the authorities' decisions," he said.
The current mechanism for suspending the visa-free regime by the EU assumes five grounds. Four are related to migration, and the fifth is related to the regression of reforms. The abolition of the visa-free regime can be initiated by one of the 27 EU member states or the European Commission. A qualified majority, that is, the support of 15 EU countries, is sufficient for the restriction.
