European Parliament Members: “Georgia meets all requirements, it merits visa-free regime with EU”

Lawmakers in the European Parliament (EP) say Georgia has met all its European Union (EU) visa liberalisation requirements and believe the country should be granted a visa-free regime as soon as possible.

The EP lawmakers added Georgia’s bid for a visa-free regime with the EU should not be influenced by other issues facing the EU, such as foreign migration, or be regarded in the same visa debates the EU is currently having with Turkey, Ukraine or Kosovo. 

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Members of European Parliament (MEPs) has released a statement voicing their support for Georgia after meeting Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Strasbourg, France yesterday. 

The Socials and Democrats (S&D) Group, the second largest group in the EP with 191 members from all 28 EU countries, made a clear statement that supported Georgia’s visa liberalisation to the EU. 

Today S&D Group president Gianni Pittella and vice president for Foreign Policy and Eastern Partnership Knut Fleckenstein met with Margvelashvili in Strasbourg. 

The S&D Group supports the process of liberalising the visa regime for Georgia; we are aware of the sensitivity of this issue in terms of encouraging the Georgian people and institutions to firmly keep to the European path,” Pittella said.

 Fleckenstein added Georgia had met all the requirements therefore the EU should stick to its promise and "grant a visa-free regime now” to the people of Georgia.

"We expect ‎the Council to act now,” Fleckenstein stressed.