Johannes Hahn: Georgia will receive visa liberalisation this year
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European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn is confident Georgia will be granted visa liberalisation this year.
Hahn, who attended the EU Foreign Ministers ministerial in Bratislava, Slovakia, told Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe that a decision would be made in the European Parliament and among EU member states to grant visa liberalisation to Georgia and Ukraine later this year.
Among member states there was a clear indication, and by many of the member states a clear expectation, that both countries should get it,” Hahn said.
Quoting various EU sources, RFE/RL said the European Parliament and the Council would give the green light to visa liberalisation for Georgia and Ukraine in October or November, and citizens of these two countries would be able to travel to the EU's Schengen zone without visas later this year.
The media outlet stated earlier this summer Germany blocked a decision to grant Georgia visa liberalisation, with reports claiming Berlin feared a spike of crimes committed by Georgians in Germany if the country was granted a visa waiver.
Hahn however believes that the creation later this autumn of a beefed up EU mechanism suspending visas in case of problems 'should remove all concerns'," RFE/RL said.
Thankful to my #French colleague @jeanmarcayrault for #Georgia's firm support @francediplo_EN@MFAgovgepic.twitter.com/LiRlcuyag6
— Mikheil Janelidze (@JanelidzeMkh) September 3, 2016
Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze also attended the EU foreign minsters' meeting in Bratislava. Within the visit he met Foreign Ministers of France, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Lithuania. All the foreign diplomats expressed their support for Georgia’s visa liberalisation.
France recognises Georgia’s progress in its European and Euro-Atlantic integration and visa liberalisation process,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said following Janelidze’s meeting with the French high official.
The Frenchman confirmed official Paris would support Georgian citizens to receive the right to travel without a visa to the EU.
Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze is on an official visit to Berlin, Germany, where he met State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs Emily Haber.
“I will do what I can“ for Georgia’s visa liberalisation
Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has declared his continued support for Georgia’s visa liberalisation with the European Union (EU) and hopes it will be finalised "soon", following his successful visit to Georgia.
About 150 officials from all over the European Union (EU) involved in European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) have voted in favour of Georgia gaining visa-free travel to the Schengen Zone.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is in Georgia to attend the opening ceremony of the annual Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA), which is taking place in Tbilisi from July 1-5.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) has backed the plans to grant citizens of Georgia the right to travel to the Schengen area without a visa.
Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze is in Strasbourg, France today to meet European Union (EU) and European Parliament (EP) officials and discuss the country’s visa liberalisation perspectives.
The European Parliament (EP) has established a Georgia Friendship Team to strengthen the already strong ties that exist between the EP, the European Union (EU) and Georgia.
Georgia’s Ambassador to the European Union (EU) Natalia Sabanadze says the increasing presence of the EU in the Caucasus region is directly correlated with Georgia’s development, particularly its improvement in democracy.
Yesterday the Foreign Affairs Committee of the unicameral Parliament (Seimas) of Lithuania adopted a special document, where the country’s lawmakers address the EU to grant Georgian citizens with a visa waiver to travel to the EU "in the nearest future”.
"Georgia deserves the long-promised visa free regime,” says Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius. "Georgia did what it promised on visa liberalisation and we shouldn't be changing rules in the middle of the game," he added.
In a letter sent yesterday to the Slovak Presidency [of the CoE], MEPs of the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) invited the Council of Europe to begin open talks on Georgia’s visa liberalisation "as soon as possible at the beginning of November”.
Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikheil Janelidze claims all indicators are present Georgia-European Union (EU) visa liberalisation negotiations to be successfully completed very soon.
European Parliament approves visa-free travel for Georgian citizens
Today is the final stretch of a long marathon Georgia has been running for years: starting in spring, Georgian citizens will be able to travel visa-free to most countries of the European Union.