Visas for Georgians
are not enough
MATEUSZ KUBIAK
It has been over six months since the European Union
lifted visa requirements for Georgian citizens travelling
to the EU. In recent years, this issue was the main
engine of EU-Georgia co-operation and was hailed as a
success of Georgia’s pro-European policies. The euphoria
felt among Georgians after achieving visa-free travel,
however, may fade over time. Therefore, it is necessary
that the EU presents Georgia with concrete goals towards
continuous participation in the Eastern Partnership.Since the 2003 Rose Revolution Georgia has been treated as a model student,
first in the European Neighbourhood Policy and then the Eastern Partnership. The
United National Movement led by Mikheil Saakashvili unequivocally expressed
the intention to integrate with Euro-Atlantic structures and despite the authori-
tarian tendencies of its leader, the party managed to implement an ambitious in-
ternal reform plan.
The pro-western trajectory of the country was not shaken by the five day war
in August 2008 or the rise to power of Saakashvili’s opposition, the Georgian
Dream. Many observers worried that the party, controlled by the oligarch Bidzina
Ivanishvili, would take a more pro-Russian course in its foreign policy instead of
deepening its co-operation with the West. Despite a slight relaxation of relations
between Tbilisi and Moscow after 2013, the activities aimed at Georgia’s integra-
tion with the EU have continued.