Minister: Visa-free Travel with EU to be Launched in Late March or Early April

TBILISI - European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Minister, Viktor Dolidze, believes that Georgians will be able to enjoy visa-free travel with the European Union in late March or early April.

“We will have visa-free regime with the EU very soon. I do not expect any surprises in this regard,” Dolidze said today after competing his recent visit to Brussels.

Dolidze left for Belgium on January 17 to participate in the NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) meeting on the level of permanent representatives, where the implementation of the 8th Annual National Program of 2016 was discussed.

Prior to the NATO-Georgia Commission, the Georgia's Minister of State also met with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.

The two sides discussed Georgia's progress in integrating into NATO, along with plans for future cooperation with the alliance.

Dolidze thanked Stoltenberg for his firm support of Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration.

Expectations are that the integration process, which has been characterized as highly dynamic, will continue successfully through 2017.

The European Parliament and the Council of Europe reached a political agreement over Georgia’s visa liberalization with the EU in December .

On December 20, the EU Council Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of Member States to the EU (Coreper) approved the amendments to the text of Georgia’s visa liberalization.

After that, the European Parliament Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) supported the amendments to the text of Georgia’s visa liberalization, a move which took place on January 12.

It is now up to the European Parliament to make the final decision.

If Georgia’s visa liberalization is approved by the European Parliament, the amended regulations will be formally approved by the EU Council at the ministerial level. 

The visa-free regime between Georgia and the EU will go into force as soon as the suspension mechanism is activated. When the process is complete, Georgian citizens will be able to enter the EU visa-free for 90 days in any 180-day period.

by Thea Morrison

Photo: European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Minister, Viktor Dolidze

Source: timer.ge