European Parliament Member on Georgia’s visa waiver:
“EU keeps its promise when a country delivers”
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Visa free travel for Georgian citizens to the European Union (EU) is finally in sight after an agreement between the Council of Europe and the European Parliament over the suspension mechanism was reached.
European Parliament member Kati Piri tweeted yesterday that the "EU keeps its promise when [a] country delivers”.
Celebrations in Tbilisi that finally visa free travel for Georgians is in sight. Important that EU keeps its promise when country delivers! pic.twitter.com/SwMDEmezdG
— Kati Piri (@KatiPiri) December 7, 2016
The agreement was reached yesterday however introduction of visa free travel still awaits formal approval.
Georgians hope the formal decisions will swiftly be granted this month, allowing citizens to start travelling to EU countries without a visa starting next year.
European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn also urged the EU Council and European Parliament to a make decision about Georgia's visa waiver "as soon as possible”.
#Georgia, #Ukraine#visa lib: Welcome agreement on suspension mechanism. Urge @EUCouncil, @Europarl_EN to decide asap @MFAgovge@MFA_Ukraine
— Johannes Hahn (@JHahnEU) December 7, 2016
In November the EU announced it had decided to grant visa-free travel rights to Georgia and Ukraine after both countries delivered on a set of reform measures.
But concerns soon mounted that the EU, already shaken by the Syrian migrant crisis, was dragging its feet. One obvious concern was that more migrant workers from Ukraine, a country of more than 40 million and Georgia with some four million citizens, could flood into EU member countries in search of jobs and higher living standards.
Officials announced countries within the EU first needed to agree on and introduce an emergency suspension mechanism.
But the President of the European Council Donald Tusk encouraged decision makers to deliver on the long-promised visa-free regimes for both Ukraine and Georgia.
Earlier this week he sent a letter to European Parliament President Martin Schulz saying "we simply cannot allow those who have put their trust in us in the end to become the victims of our internal disputes”.
This is what Tusk posted on his Twitter account today:
Almost there. Visa suspension mechanism dispute over. Now the final stretch towards visa free travel for Ukraine and Georgia.
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) December 8, 2016
Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili went to Twitter to thank the EU.
Thank you for your support, I am happy to see the EU deliver: now let's get a well-deserved swift visa liberalisation for #Georgia@eu_nearhttps://t.co/NEpz7SC46K
— Giorgi Kvirikashvili (@KvirikashviliGi) December 8, 2016
Meanwhile as MEP Kati Piri said, the EU has kept its promise and now Georgian citizens are one step closer to travelling visa free to EU.
She said after additional consultations and discussions within European Parliament, the agreement on the suspension mechanism may be voted at European Parliament’s plenary session next week.
European Parliament Member Kati Piri announced on Twitter that European structures have agreed on the suspension mechanism, which was the last precondition in place for Georgia to be granted a visa waiver to the EU.
The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini says she personally looked forward to Georgia's visa liberalisation with the EU.
European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn believes the European Parliament and Council of Europe will agree on a visa waiver suspension mechanism before Christmas.
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 Prime Minister hopes all procedures related to the country's visa liberalisation will be finalised in the nearest future meaning Georgian citizens will be granted a visa waiver to the EU’s Schengen Zone.
Georgia's visa waiver will be discussed in Brussels this evening at a special meeting involving the European Parliament, European Council and European Commission.
The European Parliament and the Council of Europe have reached a political agreement today regarding Georgia's visa liberalisation with the European Union, it was announced today.
What’s next?
Georgia's Foreign Ministry is welcoming the political agreement reached within the EU to grant Georgian citizens visa free travel to the EU, and explains what procedures remain for the agreement to actually come into force.
Members of the European Parliament have voiced a recommendation to let Georgia join the Schengen Area. The recommendation of letting Georgia in the Area is included in a report on the Eastern Partnership prepared by the European Parliament.
The November 2017 Eastern Partnership Summit should pave the way to set up a trust fund for Eastern partners and reward reforms by offering them customs union, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) say.