PM Bakhtadze says visa liberalisation has to be carried out responsibly
Answering the question about the possible risks regarding visa liberalisation in Brussels PM Bakhtadze said that 'visa liberalisation should be carried out responsibly'. Photo: PM's office
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Prime Minister of Georgia, Mamuka Bakhtadze, has emphasised the importance of the responsible implementation of the visa liberalisation tool by Georgians.
Answering the question about the possible risks regarding visa liberalisation in Brussels yesterday PM Bakhtadze said that despite Georgia being the best performing country in terms of EU integration, ‘each Georgian citizen has to understand that visa liberalisation should be carried out responsibly.
“More and more states acknowledge Georgia as a safe country what is the prerequisite of solving a problem connected with violations of visa free rules. Responsible units are actively working on a daily basis from both sides and this is a process. I am far from the assessment that there are any risks threatening the visa liberalisation tool,” he said.
He has also mentioned that since the enactment of the visa liberalisation agreement, the government has been actively working with European partners to minimise risks and avoid irresponsible use of this ‘historic achievement’.
The key outcomes of the meeting include €3.4 billion for transport investment projects, €100 million of additional access to finance in local currency for SMEs, support for additional academic and scientific exchanges, and a new programme to increase the security of Georgian citizens, the European Commission says.
This time last year, a small Georgian delegation led by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili left for a historic trip on which Georgians travelled visa-free for the first time to the European Union (EU).
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius says that Georgia will dispel of all existing doubts over the Georgia-EU visa free deal.
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that threats coming from the possibility of Georgian asylum seekers cooperating with members of organised crime have been ‘neutralised’ as the result of ‘effective cooperation’ with the country’s European partners.
The European Commission has released its report on the fulfilment of visa-free obligations by Georgia, other Eastern Partnership countries and the Balkan states. The report reads that Georgia is fulfilling its obligations taken on with the EU: however, it also says that irregular migration still remains an issue of concern.