Tusk says Georgia met all requirements for positive final decision on visa-free travel
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This afternoon Georgia's President Giorgi Margvelashvili sat down with Council of Europe (CoE) president Donald Tusk to discuss the country's visa liberalisation.
A short time ago Margvelashvili hosted a joint press conference with Tusk, who said Georgia had fulfilled all its visa liberalisation requirements and he hoped the country would be soon be granted the right to travel without a visa to the European Union (EU).
Speaking to media Tusk highlighted the successful reforms carried out in Georgia and the country’s big achievements regarding implementation of the Georgia-EU Association Agreement (AA) and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) deals, as well as its visa requirements presented by the EU.
As you know, last December the European Commission confirmed that Georgia had achieved all the required benchmarks for a positive final decision, which I trust will be forthcoming soon. The Commission's proposal to grant Georgian citizens visa-free travel to the Schengen area is currently being discussed by the Council and the European Parliament.
The CoE official also stressed the importance of the October Parliamentary Elections in Georgia, and said the elections would be a "test” for the country.
Expanding on this Tusk positively assessed the fact charges had been laid regarding the May 22 by-election clash between supporters of opposing political parties in Georgia’s western Zugdidi municipality.
President Margvelashvili spoke about the political importance of gaining a visa-free regime and emphasised Georgia was steadily moving towards European integration.
The President also said pre-election campaigning had officially launched in Georgia today and the country's leadership was committed to holding free, fair and transparent elections.
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.
Officials discuss Georgia’s visa liberalisation
Georgia’s President believes the country needs greater support from the European Union (EU) to successfully finalise its visa liberalisation process, which will allow Georgian citizens the right to travel to the Schengen Zone without a visa.
October’s Parliamentary Election will test democracy in Georgia
Georgia has implemented a number of useful reforms and European leaders do appreciate this. This was stressed by Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili as he visited Strasbourg for a working visit yesterday.
Tbilisi celebrates the release of a positive progress report on Georgia's implementation of its Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP). The European Commission today released the report that said Georgia met all the benchmarks of the VLAP.
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.
Georgia-EU visa-free talks should end successfully before October elections
Georgia’s Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili says all conditions have been met so talks about Georgia’s visa-free travel to the Schengen zone should end successfully before the Parliamentary Elections are held on October 8, 2016.
"Georgia has fulfilled its assignment; we have completed all the technical parts of our Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. We are absolutely in line with all the requirements set by the European Commission,” underlined the PM while speaking at a panel discussion at the Energy Forum held in Tbilisi today.
Five European states have penned a joint letter urging the Council of Europe (CoE) and European Parliament (EP) to grant Georgia visa-free travel to the EU before the end of this month.
The European Union (EU) Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn says Georgia has fulfilled all requirements for visa-free travel to the Schengen zone and the country "deserved” a quick decision from EU authorities about being granted a visa waiver.
All 28 member states of the European Union (EU) agree Georgia has done "incredibly good work” to implement all obligations for visa-free travel and these efforts deserve to be recognised "as soon as possible”.