Georgia's Removal from Belgium's Safe Countries List May Be Due to Technical Error, Says Georgian Ambassador
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Georgian Ambassador to Belgium Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, has suggested that Belgium's decision to remove Georgia from the list of safe countries may be attributed to a technical error.
Despite Georgia being recognized as a safe country by the majority of European Union member states, Makharoblishvili highlighted the varying approaches among EU countries. He revealed positive consultations with Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who recommended Georgia's continued inclusion on the safe countries list. Makharoblishvili indicated that such decisions are sometimes influenced by technical or statistical data.
Ongoing communication between Georgian authorities and Belgian ministries, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is underway to clarify the specific reasons behind the decision. However, Makharoblishvili assured that the visa-free regime is not in jeopardy, as there has been no communication from the European Union indicating any concerns in this regard.
"Out of the 20 member states of the European Union, Georgia is recognized as a safe country. I would also like to point out that not all EU countries have a similar approach and principle in general. We had active consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, and I can openly say that the Ministry had a positive attitude and recommended that Georgia remain on the list of safe countries. Consequently, decisions of this type are sometimes made based on certain types of technical or statistical data.
We had active consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and we also had communication with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Internal communication between Belgian agencies is also ongoing, and probably in the near future, they will clarify the specific, possibly technical and statistical reasons.
Decisions of this type are made once a year; however, I cannot rule out that, based on various circumstances, a review will take place, and some decisions will be made more quickly. As for the visa-free regime, I can tell you that it is not in danger. There has been no communication from the European Union regarding this," said Makharoblishvili.
