On Wednesday 26 October, the members of the European Parliament's civil liberties committee wrote to the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU calling upon the Council to start negotiations on the visa-free regime for Georgian nationals, which is the subject of an agreement of the committee and an agreement in principle of the member states.
An Parliament press release states that in this letter, the members of the committee urge the Council to open these negotiations as soon as possible in early November (see EUROPE 11617). On 5 September, the Parliament agreed to allow Georgian nationals to benefit from this regime to enter the Schengen area. The Council adopted its general approach on 5 October. However, there is still a difference of opinion over the negotiation conditions, with the member states keen to combine these talks with those on the suspension mechanism for the visa liberalisation schemes, a dossier still at deadlock in trialogue (see EUROPE 11639). However, the Parliament does not make the same connection between the two files.
According to the Parliament in its press release, there is no real reason to push the talks back, given that the Commission has also confirmed that the country had met all the criteria. A Council source said that the green light given to these negotiations on 5 October was conditional on progress in the suspension mechanism dossier, as the member states want the two instruments to enter into force at the same time.
According to a source close to the issue, talks on the suspension mechanism continue to stumble over the respective roles of the Council and the Parliament and the procedures to be followed. The Parliament takes the view that the fact that these negotiations on the suspension mechanism have been set in place alone is enough to justify opening talks on the visa-free regime. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)