EU Enlargement Chief Says Georgians to Travel Visa Free in 2016

PRAGUE - The EU's commissioner for European neighborhood policy and enlargement negotiations Johannes Hahn said in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL in Prague on Tuesday that Georgians, Ukrainians, and Kosovars will be able to travel visa free to the EU in 2016.

He added that visa liberalization depends on how quickly "our partner countries move forward and comply with our requirements," before adding, “Of course, there must always be a political assessment. But in terms of, so to say, meeting the standards, qualifying themselves, they have done what is necessary,” Hahn said.

Hahn said the European Council and the European Parliament have to approve the visa waiver for all three countries.

“I think there should be a joint treatment of at least these three countries, maybe including Turkey,” said Hahn.

Georgia expects its visa-free regime with the EU to come into force by June. In December 2015, the European Commission proposed that the Council of the European Union and the EU Parliament lift visa requirements for Georgian citizens within six months.

At the time of the declaration, Turkey and Kosovo lagged far behind the ex-Soviet nations on the path to visa-free travel to the EU.

By Tamar Svanidze
Edited by Nicholas Waller

Photo: Johannes Hahn/Twitter