Big Day for Georgians - European Parliament Backs Georgia’s Visa-liberalization

BRUSSELS – The European Parliament (EP) voted in favor of visa-free travel for Georgian citizens to the Schengen Area at the plenary session at noon on Thursday.

This was the final vote on the Georgia issue, after which only technical procedures remain.

553 MEPs supported Georgia’s visa liberalization during the vote, while 66 were against and 28 abstained.

The voting process was preceded by debates between the MEPs.

The European Parliament and the Council of Europe reached a political agreement over Georgia’s visa liberalization with the European Union (EU) in December, 2016.

On December 20th, 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 12th.

Now, as 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. 

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.

Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Mikheil Janelidze commented on the decision, saying this step of the EP underlines that the EU strongly supports Georgia.

“We congratulate our citizens on this day. Our progress towards integration with the EU could not have been achieved if we hadn’t had firm support from our population and state agencies,” the Minister said, underlining that the positive result was the outcome of the government’s hard work and efforts.

Janelidze also noted that the Georgian government will also offer the benefits of visa liberalization to the residents of Georgia’s occupied regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

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, biometric passport holders will be able to enter the Schengen area, which includes 22 EU member states (excluding Ireland, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria) in addition to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, for 90 days within any 180-day period for a holiday, business or any other purpose, except work.

By Thea Morrison