European Commission publishes the “Fifth report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism”.

“Georgia continued to fight organised crime as part of its national strategy in this area and its corresponding action plans. The Georgian Liaison Office at Europol cooperates closely with the teams in the European Serious Organised Crime Centre. Bilateral cooperation was also strengthened, including action via bilateral arrangements and the network of police attachés to 11 Member States, with a particular focus on anti-money laundering.

In 2021, Georgia made an effort to better align its money-laundering and terrorism-financing legislation with the EU’s. This made it possible for the Georgian authorities to act on United Nations Sanctions Committee listings as soon as they were published. Another legislative change will authorise FMS (Georgian FIU) to submit more confidential information to more national institutions (including the ministry of finance) than before for money-laundering and terrorism-financing crimes. The legislative procedure to approve these amendments is ongoing.

Overall, Georgia continues to fulfil the visa liberalisation benchmarks and has taken action to address the Commission’s previous recommendations. However, further efforts are needed in visa policy and fighting money laundering and organised crime”, - reads the report.