Kvirikashvili – Mogherini – Dec 2016 – Photo EU Council
(BRUSSELS) – Georgian citizens with a biometric passport who travel to the EU for up to 90 days for business, tourist or family purposes will no longer need a visa after EU states agreed a regulation on visa liberalisation Monday.
“This agreement will bring the people of Georgia and the EU closer together and will strengthen tourism and business ties,” said Malta’s Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela, and National Security. “It follows the completion of the necessary reforms by Georgia, addressing document security, border management, migration and asylum. In addition, the recent adaptation of the suspension mechanism has made this agreement possible.”
With Geogia having met all the benchmarks of the visa liberalisation action plan by end 2015, the Commission presented a proposal for a regulation revising the current suspension mechanism.In the context of the current migratory and security situation in the European Union in May 2016. The revised suspension mechanism allows, in specific circumstances, to suspend the visa waiver for the nationals of a specific country.
The institutions took the view that the entry into force of visa liberalisation for Georgia should be at the same time as the entry into force of the new suspension mechanism. The Council also adopted the regulation on the revised suspension mechanism on 27 February 2017.
The EU Council and the European Parliament now need to sign the adopted regulation. The text will then be published in the EU Official Journal and will enter into force 20 days later, at the same time as the new visa waiver suspension mechanism.
The regulation formally amends regulation 539/2001, moving Georgia from Annex I (countries whose nationals need a visa to enter the Schengen area) to Annex II (visa free countries).
It should be noted these measures will not apply to Ireland and the United Kingdom, in accordance with protocols to the EU treaties. The visa regime of these member states remains subject to their national legislation.
