Netherlands to Ask EU to Suspend Visa-Free Travel Agreement With Georgia

Following the arrest of over 300 people in pro-EU demonstrations, the Netherlands will call for the suspension of visa-free travel arrangements with Georgia. Georgian citizens are currently able to travel to the EU visa-free for short visits. 

Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, condemned the violence against protesters and journalists, and the arrest of politicians in Georgia on Thursday on X, calling it ‘unacceptable’. People have been protesting for the past week against the government’s decision to stop negotiations to join the EU. In his post, he affirmed the move by several Baltic states to impose individual entry bans and mentioned that he would raise this issue at the two-day meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Malta. 

According to Reuters, Veldcamp said that he would be making a formal request to the EU to “make it clear to the Georgian government the path they are taking comes with a price” and ask the OSCE to investigate the Georgian government and its actions.