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EU, Georgia to ink deal on visa-free regime on March 1

24 February 2017 17:29 (UTC+04:00)
EU, Georgia to ink deal on visa-free regime on March 1

By Kamila Aliyeva

Georgian citizens will be granted visa-free travel to the European Union (EU) member states from March 1, 2017.

The signing ceremony of the agreement on visa-free regime between Georgia and the European Union countries will be held in Brussels on March 1, 2017, Georgia Online reported with reference to Radіo Liberty reporter Rikard Jozwiak.

"The ceremony of signing the agreement on a visa-free regime for Georgia and on the mechanism of temporary suspension of the visa-free entry will be held in Brussels on March 1,” he wrote.

On March 9, 2016, the European Commission submitted to the European Parliament and the Council a legislative proposal on visa liberalization for Georgia. The same was done for Ukraine on April 20, as well as for Turkey and Kosovo on May 4.

At first, it was assumed that visa-free regime for Ukraine and Georgia will be discussed in the same package, but Members of European Parliament (MEPs) offered to divide the countries.

In late 2016, the EU approved the completion of the legislative process of providing the citizens of Ukraine and Georgia with the visa-free regime with the EU member states.

The prospect of easier travel to Europe has been used by the pro-Western governments in Kiev and Tbilisi to win popular backing for painful EU-sponsored reforms.

Negotiations on visa liberalization for Ukraine and Georgia began back in 2008 as part of the Eastern Partnership Program. Georgia entered the practical phase of those talks in 2012 as it prepared for associate EU membership. Ukraine reached that stage in 2014. Ukraine abolished visa requirements for EU citizens back in 2005, and Georgia followed this example in 2006.

According to the Eastern Partnership Visa Liberalization Index prepared by the Visa-free Europe Coalition and the Stefan Batory Foundation, Armenia, Belarus, and Azerbaijan are the countries which are next in line to gain ratification of visa-free regimes.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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