Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, the Georgian Ambassador to Belgium and the Head of the Georgian Mission to the European Union, stated that Belgium has currently decided to remove Georgia from the list of safe countries.
However, he mentioned that consultations will be held to determine the specific reason behind this decision, which could potentially be related to technical or statistical factors.
The Ambassador expressed his expectation that, after reviewing relevant statistics and data, the decision will be reconsidered, leading to Georgia’s reinstatement on the list of safe countries.
He further clarified that there is no indication that Belgium’s decision will impact the European Union’s stance on the visa-free regime for Georgia. Makharoblishvili stated that no such communication or hint has been received from the European Union.
“The European Union has not communicated or hinted at any changes regarding Georgia’s status as a safe country. We are currently participating in the Georgia-EU Association Agreement meeting, specifically the Association Committee meeting, and no message of a similar nature has been received from the EU.
I want to reiterate that the majority of EU countries acknowledge Georgia as a safe country. This is the general position of the European Union, and we do not anticipate any risks to the visa-free regime at this stage,” said Vakhtang Makharoblishvili.
