EU Ambassador Urges Georgia to Return to European Integration Path, Flags Upcoming Visa Report
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, November 13, 2025
The European Union Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski, urged the country's authorities to change course on EU integration and highlighted an upcoming European Commission report on visa suspension mechanisms that could affect Georgia.
"When asked whether I am in contact with the Georgian authorities, as EU Ambassador, it is my duty to have open channels of communication with everyone," Herczynski said. "Of course, I am trying to talk to the authorities. We are also in contact with the opposition and civil society. This is clear from the enlargement report published by the European Commission exactly a week ago."
The ambassador described the report as "devastating," noting it shows Georgia is further from EU membership than it was two years ago, when it received candidate status. "It is up to the Georgian authorities to change course and return to the path of European integration," he added.
Herczynski addressed claims from the Georgian government that the EU halted its accession process. "It was the Georgian government that decided to apply for membership in March 2022. The European Union granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023. It is Georgia's business to make decisions about its own legislation. It can have any law it wants, but it is my role and the EU's role to tell Georgians which laws are not in line with the European Union."
He cited the law on foreign agents adopted in June 2024 as a key turning point.
"In the spring of 2024, we said clearly not to adopt this law because there would be consequences. After the Georgian Parliament adopted it, the European Council decided to de facto suspend Georgia's accession process and requested that the government change course. It took 18 months for some parliamentarians to realize their actions would have consequences," he said.
Herczynski also discussed the upcoming report on the visa suspension mechanism.
"In December, next month, the European Commission will publish a report on the visa suspension mechanism, including for Georgia. This report will be shared with the member states, and they will discuss it and make a decision," he told journalists.
When asked whether the new mechanism will affect senior Georgian officials, he replied, "I get this question quite often and I try not to answer it because I simply do not want to speculate. What I can tell you is that the new mechanism applies not only to Georgia, but to all countries that enjoy visa-free travel to the European Union. What kind of decision the member states will make is something I do not want to speculate about."
He added that the European Commission had asked for clarifications regarding Georgia's implementation of previous visa-related recommendations. "The European Commission has received a response from the Georgian authorities. As I understand it, this response is not satisfactory. Based on this, a new report on the visa suspension mechanism will be published in December. It will be shared with the member states, and they will make a decision," Herczynski said.
"The June 2024 European Council conclusions were the first wake-up call. Last week's enlargement report is probably the final one. If Georgia is serious about joining the EU, the government needs to change course immediately and get back on the path of European integration," he concluded.
