French interior minister: number of Georgian asylum seekers dropped by 50%
Georgian [L] and French interior ministers have met in Paris earlier today. Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
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French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner says that the number of Georgian asylum seekers in France has dropped by 50 per cent in the second half of the year, while Georgia took the first position on the list of asylum seekers in the first several months of 2019.
97 per cent of requests on asylum has been dropped,” Castaner told Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri who is now visiting France.
He stated that Georgia is a safe country and only those will receive asylum in France “who really deserve this.”
Gomelauri stated that the preservation of the EU-Georgia visa waiver is of top importance for the Georgian government and “all steps are being taken” to prevent Georgians’ illegal stay in the EU-member states.
He stated that two more Georgian law enforcers will work with French colleagues in the country (France) against illegal migration and organised crime.
Now we will have five law enforcers in France,” Gomelauri said.
Both ministers said that Georgia and France are cooperating “very successfully”against illegal migration and organised crime.
Georgia has become the first country in the South Caucasus which signed an agreement with the EU agency Eurojust, created in 2002 to help EU member and several non-member countries cooperate more effectively to combat terrorism and serious crimes, the Georgian Justice Ministry reports.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has visited Georgia and signed a deal with his Georgian colleague earlier today, which allows two Georgian officers to be directly involved in the investigations of crimes in France that may involve Georgian nationals.
Four Georgian criminal bosses and 34 Georgian members of criminal groups were detained in France and Greece on April 16-17 through cooperation with the Georgian Interior Ministry.
The Georgian and French interior ministers signed an agreement in Paris today to create a joint working group against the transnational organised crime.