Georgia expects visa free travel to Europe after 2015 Riga Summit

Georgia’s State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alex Petriashvili believes the Georgian side expects it could be possible for Georgian citizens to travel to European Union (EU) member countries visa free after the Eastern Partnership Summit (EaP) in Riga next spring.

This reality is coming closer as the country has successfully completed the first phase of the visa liberalisation process and moved onto the next step. The country was congratulated by the international community for its efforts, and on Wednesday the European Commission adopted its second progress report on Georgia’s implementation of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).

"The Georgian side expects a decision from the EU about Georgia’s visa free travel [at the] Riga Summit,” Petriashvili said.

"It is very important for the European Union to adopt the successful reports on Georgia’s achievements like this recent one. Thus, Georgia strives to achieve a positive assessment about visa free travel [at the] Riga Summit.”

Petriashvili also expressed the readiness of Georgia’s Government to fulfill all requirements of the VLAP before the EaP Summit during his meeting with a member of Germany’s Bundestag, Karin Strenz, in Tbilisi today.

The Commission said in yesterday’s second progress report on Georgia’s implementation of the VLAP that it was ready to provide assistance to Georgia as it implemented the legislative, policy and institutional framework of phase two of the VLAP.