Visa talks with EU were like ‘wrestling match’, Georgian Vice Speaker

Thea Tsulukiani, Vice-Speaker and chair of Georgia’s parliamentary inquiry commission on the previous, United National Movement government, has claimed that negotiations with the European Union over visa liberalisation were marked by “unfair treatment” toward Georgia, despite the country’s progress on key technical requirements.

Speaking during a commission session investigating whether certain political figures harmed Georgia’s foreign policy interests between 2012 and 2025, Tsulukiani said the process felt like a "wrestling match" with Brussels, which, in her view, lacked the political will to grant Georgia visa-free travel at the time.

“At the negotiation table, everything was laid bare - it was a struggle, a back-and-forth,” she said. “Despite having advanced biometric passports backed by modern databases and technologies, we were told we weren’t ready. Meanwhile, Moldova, which had old-style passports with chips taped to the back pages, was granted visa-free access.”

Tsulukiani argued that Georgia was ahead of both Ukraine and Moldova in terms of meeting technical criteria, yet Brussels remained hesitant, possibly due to its disapproval of the Georgian government at the time. “Why they didn’t want us to get it easily - whether it was political or something else - is still a subject worth exploring,” she added.

Georgia was ultimately granted visa-free travel with the Schengen Area in March 2017. The arrangement allows Georgian citizens holding biometric passports to travel to most EU countries for short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period, for tourism, business, or family visits.