Estonia plans to abolish visa-free travel for Georgian diplomats

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to block visa-free travel for Georgian diplomats over its "violation of human rights and democratic principles" and has submitted draft legislation to the government.
The move comes after the Georgian government suspended the EU application process and cracked down on protesters for rallying against the decision. Protests have taken place for four months.
The new regulation will apply to holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports. It will repeal an order that waived the visa requirement for Georgian diplomats introduced in 2006.
"The aim of the provision is to halt preferential treatment for users of Georgian diplomatic and service passports in visa procedures, and to ensure that all holders of such passports must apply for and possess a Schengen visa in order to cross external Schengen borders and remain in Estonian territory," the draft states.
It says that the government is acting in accordance with a decision made by the Council of the European Union of January 27, which partially suspended the visa agreement between the European Union and Georgia. It effectively revoked visa-free travel for Georgian diplomats.
Each member state must make a separate decision regarding the revocation of visa-free travel for diplomats, the draft says.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote that the EU took the step because Georgian authorities have taken measures that violate human rights and democratic principles.
Revoking visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic passports targets those who disregard human rights and democratic values, which the agreement was based on.
Visa-free travel will remain in effect for all other Georgian citizens, i.e., travelers with so-called ordinary passports.
The Ministry of the Interior is expected to provide feedback on the draft by this Friday.
Estonia has been one of the biggest supporters of Georgia's EU integration and membership path. But following decisions made by the ruling Georgian Dream party at the end of 2024, it has become one of the government's most vocal critics.
All three Baltic states have issued dozens of entry bans to Georgian officials, even though the EU has yet to do so.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Helen Wright