Georgian PM praises Gov’t “hard work” for EU visa-free travel on anniversary
The PM called the figure a “concrete, tangible result after the signing of the [2014] Association Agreement with the EU.” Photo: Government of Georgia
Tweet 
Share
Georgia’s Government did “a lot of work” to achieve visa-free travel with the European Union for its citizens, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at Monday’s Government meeting on the fifth anniversary of the agreement.
Garibashvili expressed gratitude to “everyone who has contributed to achieving” abolition of the visa requirement for EU travel in 2017, noting Georgian nationals had paid over 1.5 million visits to countries of the Union since.
The PM called the figure a “concrete, tangible result after the signing of the [2014] Association Agreement with the EU.”
We started this process in 2013, when we were given a visa-free regime action plan. Then the government did a lot of work [...] The EU considered it satisfactory, and right after that [...] in about a year, the EU visa regime was lifted, and our citizens [have] enjoyed visa-free travel to EU countries,” Garibashvili said in comments on the anniversary.
Garibashvili underlined that the Georgian Government spared no effort to effectively implement "irreversible" European choice of Georgian people.
Today marks the 5th anniversary of #visafree regime with ????????- historic achievement and another step on ????????'s European integration path. Our Gov't spares no effort to effectively implement irreversible European choice of Georgian people ultimately leading to country's ???????? membership! pic.twitter.com/HcZ9Ety5g6
— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) March 28, 2022
“Our Government spares no effort to effectively implement irreversible European choice of Georgian people ultimately leading to country's EU membership,” he tweeted.
The visa-free travel with the European Union is a “wonderful opportunity for enhancing people-to-people contacts”, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani tweeted on Monday on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the agreement with the EU.
Prices of fuel are higher in 99 countries compared to Georgia, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili pointed out on Monday in response to protests in cities of the country over rising fuel costs on the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili urged the public to avoid “emotions and provocations” amid “challenges” on Monday as he revealed a Government package estimated to create new jobs starting next month.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and President Salome Zourabichvili, along with US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, attended a solidarity concert marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries on Saturday evening.
The Georgia-US relationship today is “as strong as ever", and our friendship is based on “shared values”, said Irakli Garibashvili, the Prime Minister of Georgia, on the celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between two countries.
Georgia is a democratic state based on the rule of law and bound by a “valuable unity” with its partners and NATO, which has been “repeatedly demonstrated” through democratic reforms and contribution to global security, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday in an event for the 2022 NATO-Georgia Exercise.
NATO-Georgia cooperation, the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine and the consequent deterioration of the security situation in the Eastern European region were discussed on Thursday during a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and NATO Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security David Cattler.
Georgian law enforcement has strengthened its international cooperation during the five years of visa-free travel with the European Union, the Interior Ministry of Georgia said on Monday.
Georgia’s European integration is a long-term process that must eventually lead to a full European Union membership, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili said on Monday.
Visa-free travel with the European Union has been a “vital” and “tangible benefit” for Georgian citizens, Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, said on Monday on the fifth anniversary of the country’s travel agreement with the EU and the Schengen Area countries.
Georgia marked the fifth anniversary of its visa-free travel agreement with the European Union on Monday. Five years ago on this day, the regulation lifting visa requirements for Georgians to travel to the EU and Schengen Area states entered into effect.
The European Commission’s consideration of Georgia’s bid for European Union membership has started, with the country awaiting the next development “in the near future”, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said on Monday.
The defence partnership between the Untied Kingdom and Georgia was discussed on Tuesday during a meeting between Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili and James Heappey, the UK Parliamentary Secretary of State for the Armed Forces.
Questions related to visa-free travel of Georgian citizens to the European Union/Schengen Area were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri and Nicole de Moor, the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration of Belgium.
Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Darakhvelidze and Nicole de Moor, the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration of Belgium, on Monday noted the need for continued cooperation for honing procedures related to visa-free travel to European Union/Schengen Area for Georgian citizens, as well as for ensuring accurate information against “fake news” over the matter.