On Friday 19 December, the European Commission adopted its eighth annual report under the visa suspension mechanism, analysing developments in visa policy harmonisation, migration, security and citizenship in Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership partner countries, Eastern Caribbean countries offering citizenship by investment programmes and Latin American countries.
While most countries have acted on the recommendations in previous reports, major challenges remain, particularly for Georgia.
“The Commission has raised concerns about serious breaches of fundamental rights and freedoms in Georgia, including violations of non-discrimination principles, and has repeatedly called on the Georgian authorities to take immediate action to address these issues (...). Despite this, Georgia has violated numerous commitments undertaken during the visa liberalisation dialogue and failed to implement the recommendations” of the latest report, according to a press release.
The Commission could therefore use the newly revised visa suspension mechanism, initially suspending visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic, service and official passports, possibly extending this to the entire population. Georgia could also be put back on the EU list of third countries subject to visa requirements.
Georgia currently maintains 26 visa-free agreements with countries subject to EU visa requirements and has not taken any steps towards alignment. It even “backtracked in 2024 by granting visa-free entry to citizens of China”. Georgia also “continues to pursue a visa policy that diverges substantially from the EU acquis, particularly by allowing entry to nationals of 17 countries that are visa-required both in the EU and in Georgia, solely on the basis of a visa or residence permit issued by one of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries”.
There are also continuing security concerns in Georgia due to Russian influence.
For the rest, the eighth report notes that while “illegal migration along the Western Balkans route has decreased significantly since 2023”, increasing use of violence by smuggling networks and persistent pressure at the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are cause for concern. Further progress on readmission is also needed. Unfounded asylum claims from visa-exempt nationals remain a concern, accounting for around 18% of all claims since 2015.
Applications from Kosovo, and especially Ukraine, increased significantly in 2024 (6,785 and 28,350 respectively).
In addition, the citizenship by investment programmes of five Eastern Caribbean states (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia) are a major challenge.
“It is estimated that around 107,000 passports have been issued through the schemes operated by these countries”. Processing times are short and rejection rates very low, raising concerns about the adequacy of security and due diligence procedures.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/k4e (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)