Brussels, 27/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 April, the European Parliament's EPP Group warned that it would make its vote for visa liberalisation for Georgians conditional upon the respect of European democratic standards in the country.
According to the EPP Group vice-chair for foreign affairs, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (Poland), and the permanent rapporteur for Georgia, Jaromir Stetina (Czech Republic), the Parliament's decision on whether to grant Georgia a visa waiver “should take into account whether European democratic standards have been met”. “This means no selective justice, no political prisoners, and implementing standards on the freedom of the media and the independence of the judiciary, including the Constitutional Court, ahead of hopefully free and fair elections”, Saryusz-Wolski and Stetina said in a press release. Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Georgia at the beginning of October.
Although, in Saryusz-Wolski's view, the Georgian people deserve a visa-free regime, “Georgia, as a state, is still violating democratic standards.” “It is only once the Georgian authorities free political prisoners, stop harassing independent media, especially Rustavi 2, and cease harassing the Constitutional Tribunal that a visa-free regime can be granted”, he stated. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)