European Council gives green light to Georgia’s visa waiver

Good news from Brussels about Georgia’s bid for a visa-free regime has reached Tbilisi this afternoon.

The European Council agreed it was time to begin negotiating with European Parliament about the right to grant Georgian citizens with a visa waiver and allowing visa-free travel to the European Union’s (EU) Schengen Zone.

Without the European Council’s green light, European Parliament will not be able to vote on the issue.

This news from Brussels meant Georgia was now only one step away from being granted a long-awaited visa-free regime with the EU.

A tweet from EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

#Georgia#visalib: welcome this much deserved progress! https://t.co/sT2B6ADznn

— Johannes Hahn (@JHahnEU) October 5, 2016

In a statement the European Council said the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) had agreed, on behalf of the Council, a negotiating position on visa liberalisation for Georgia.

"It confirmed the Commission’s proposal to provide visa-free travel for EU citizens when travelling to the territory of Georgia and for citizens of this country when travelling to the EU, for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period,” the European Council said.

The European Council had the view that Georgia’s visa liberalisation should come into effect at the same time as the "suspension mechanism” comes into force.

On the basis of this mandate, the European Council under Slovak presidency, will start negotiations with European Parliament about Georgia’s visa-free regime.

"The Council has today demonstrated its strong commitment to visa-free travel for Georgian citizens, taking into account Georgia's reforms,” said Peter Javorcik, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the EU, and President of the Permanent Representatives Committee.

"The Presidency believes that the path of credible reforms is the right one and should be encouraged. We count on the European Parliament's support in finalising the related process so that the citizens of Georgia can enjoy visa-free travel as soon as possible.”

It was earlier known that the majority of European Parliament Members were in favour of Georgia’s visa liberalisation.

Official Tbilisi was now optimistic of the outcome of the upcoming talks.

Once the new visa regime for Georgia is agreed with the European Parliament and formally adopted, European Parliament will move Georgia from a list of states whose nationals need a visa to enter the Schengen area, to the list of countries that do not.