EU welcomes Georgia’s visa liberalisation progress
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The European Union (EU) is welcoming Georgia’s progress as it implements the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).
The country successfully completed the first phase of the visa liberalisation process and moved into phase two on October 29. EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos met Georgia’s Prime Minister and Justice Minister in Brussels today, where he said he was ready to provide assistance to Georgia as it implemented the legislative, policy and institutional framework of phase two of the VLAP.
The EU’s first mission will visit Georgia on November 24 and prepare a progress report on Georgia’s implementation of the second phase of the VLAP.
Georgian Government officials expected it could be possible for Georgian citizens to travel to EU member countries visa free after the Eastern Partnership Summit (EaP) in Riga next spring.
"We told Mr. Avramopoulos that Georgia’s goal is the Riga Summit to become the next stage of Georgia’s progress,” Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani said after meeting the EU Commission official. "He shared Greece’s experience of what EU membership means including receiving all the benefits EU citizens have. However, receiving those benefits also outline the protection of the country’s traditions as it happened in the case of Greece,” she said.
Meanwhile PM Irakli Garibashvili focused on the specific results Georgia achieved during implementation of phase one of the VLAP during the meeting.
He believed the recently adopted law of Protecting Personal Data, the Migration Strategy and Action Plan, the National Strategy of Human Right Protection and the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination would further support successful completion of the next phase of the visa liberalisation process.
Garibashvili reaffirmed Georgia’s allegiance to the integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures and readiness for successful implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.
Later today Garibashvili is expected to attend the first EU-Georgia Association Council and attend meetings with senior EU officials, including the new NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
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.
Georgian citizens are one step closer to travelling visa free to European Union (EU) states as the country has successfully completed the first phase of the visa liberalisation process and moved onto the next step.
"Impressive” is how a European Commission official is describing Georgia’s judicial reforms and noted she was welcoming Georgia's implementation of phase two of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).
Georgia is moving one step closer to Europe as it looks to enter the second phase of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).
Easing visa regulations for Georgians and European Union (EU) countries is on the agenda for a meeting between Georgian and EU officials in Brussels.
The Georgian Government is continuing to issue new identity documents to make it easier for Georgians to travel to EU countries.
The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Ministers have reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the shared objective of visa free travel for Georgian citizens and welcomed the country’s progress as it implements the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).
"The partnership between the European Union and Georgia is a strong one and it will become even stronger in the coming years as we implement the agreement for the benefit of Georgia and the EU,” said High Representative Federica Mogherini following the important meeting.
The European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management is concerned about the possible signing of an ‘Alliance and Integration’ treaty between Russia and Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia region.
NATO-Georgia relations are moving up to a new stage, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said as he summed up his two-day visit to Brussels, the political capital of the European Union (EU).
Georgian Government approved the staff of the Association Council, which has been created under the Association Agreement (AA) signed between European Union (EU) and Georgia.
The sustainable implementation of the second stage of Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP), a set of detailed requirements that Georgia should meet in order to be granted by the EU short-term visa-free regime has been discussed at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Newly-appointed European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Johannes Hahn hopes Georgia will achieve full visa liberalisation with European Union (EU) countries.
Will Georgia be granted a visa free regime with the European Union (EU) at the Riga Summit in May? The outcome is still unclear, as the EU noted it was waiting for an evaluation by European experts before it will make a final decision.
"Georgia's progress has been significant in a short period of time" but the country "still needs to address the remaining recommendations” says the European Commission in its latest report on Georgia's implementation of its Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).
Changes to Georgia’s border crossing procedures mean current dated rules and regulations are moving away from the past and closer towards modern, international standards.