Progress report released: EU visa-free travel ahead for Georgians

The European Commission's fourth progress report on Georgia’s implementation of its visa liberalisation action plan is positive. Photo by N. Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Agenda.ge, 18 Dec 2015 - 17:01, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgia meets all the benchmarks of its Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP), meaning in early 2016 the European Union (EU) will propose a legislative amendment to let Georgian citizens travel to the EU visa free.

This afternoon the European Commission released its fourth and final progress report on Georgia's implementation of the VLAP.

The report was positive for Georgia and promised visa-free travel within the Schengen zone for all Georgian citizens.

The news was also shared on the EU's Foreign and Security Policy Service's official Twitter account:

The conclusive paragraph of the much-anticipated report read:

"The Commission considers that Georgia meets all the benchmarks set in respect of the four blocks of the second phase of the VLAP. Taking into account overall relations between the EU and Georgia, the Commission will present, early 2016, a legislative proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.”

This regulation stated which non-EU member countries’ citizens needed to have a visa when crossing the EU’s external borders and those whose nationals were exempt from having one. Today’s report meant Georgia would be taken off the visa-required list and moved to the non-visa nations. However, this won’t happen immediately. Relevant legislative processes would take several months before the visa free regime will come into effect.

Today’s VLAP progress report also stated: "The Commission will continue actively to monitor Georgia's continuous implementation of all benchmarks under the four blocks of the VLAP through the existing association structures and dialogues, and, if necessary, through ad hoc follow-up mechanisms.”

The Commission published its final report based on the outcome of continuous monitoring and reporting carried out since the launch of the EU-Georgia Visa Liberalisation Dialogue in June 2012.

Since then the Commission has published four reports, including today’s one, that assessed Georgia’s reform progress.

The final report consisted of four blocks, which included:

  • Document security, including biometrics;
  • Integrated border management, migration management and asylum;
  • Public order and security; and
  • External relations and fundamental rights.

Georgia had to adequately reform all of these four fields so that Georgian legislation in these four directions met European standards.

Today the European Commission’s report recognised Georgia’s success.