Estonian Foreign Minister: Georgia deserve visa-free travel to EU
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Georgia’s citizens fully deserve to be able to travel to the European Union (EU) without a visa, says Estonian Foreign Minister.
Marina Kaljurand voiced her glowing praise for Georgia’s efforts to implement necessary reforms that lead to visa-free travel to the EU.
"This is a technical decision as well as political will and I really hope that soon Georgian citizens will be able to travel to Europe without a visa,” said Kaljurand in an interview with Voice of America's Georgian service.
The Estonian Foreign Minister said Georgia fully met all requirements for its visa liberalisation and EU Foreign Ministers knew that at the beginning of last week.
Kaljurand said nations should have the right to join any organisation if it served their interests and goals.
"As long as Georgia wants to be closer to the EU and to integrate with it, [the country] will have our full support,” the Estonian Minister said.
In her interview she also talked about the need of expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and she firmly supported NATO’s open door policy.
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.
The delay of Georgia’s visa liberalisation progress report had nothing to do with Georgia but was the fault of Ukraine, officials confirm. Kaljurand said Ukraine "has not filled all technical requirements but Georgia may expect a positive outcome”.
Georgia sees the European Union (EU) visa liberalisation as not only a foreign policy success but also an opportunity for the country’s unification. Georgian authorities believed now more people from Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions will ask for a Georgian passport.
"Georgia has showed once again that it is a frontrunner of the Eastern Partnership. In response, Europe says that it is open to Georgian citizens." Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said.