PM hopes Georgia will enjoy visa free travel with EU by 2016
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Georgian residents could travel to Schengen countries without a visa using ordinary passports in the next two years, believes Georgia’s Prime Minister.
PM Irakli Garibashvili announced Georgia would enjoy visa-free travel to the European Union (EU) in the near future during a meeting with students today.
Asked if visa free travel would encourage an exodus of people from Georgia, Garibashvili responded: "If the young generation would have perspective in his own country they would not leave the country”.
"If [we] create such conditions for the younger generation to gain knowledge at home, we will not face such challenges. If someone would like to leave the country, it does not matter whether Georgia is visa free with the EU or not,” Garibashvili said.
Twenty-two of the 28 EU member states and all four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members participate in the Schengen area.
Georgia is currently undergoing the Visa Liberalization Action Plan (VALP).
This process is divided into two parts - legislation and implementation. Georgian authorities emphasized the legislative part will be completed this summer and the next phase would begin immediately.
European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule said the most important step for Georgia in the immediate future was to sign the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU).
Georgia is one step closer to gaining visa-free travel to the European Union (EU) after implementing 100 high level changes in the past year.
Georgian residents could travel to Schengen countries visa free with ordinary passports by late 2015 or early 2016, announced Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze after a briefing with British Foreign Secretary William Hague today.
Travelling to European Union member countries could be possible for Georgian citizens from 2016, the authorities have announced.
The Georgian minister responsible for overseeing the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration is in Latvia to discuss with international officials what next year’s Eastern Partnership Summit can offer partner countries.