On Thursday 2 February, the European Parliament definitively approved the visa liberalisation regime for Georgian nationals.
As of the end of March, Georgians will be able to travel to the Schengen visa-free area for a period of three months. However, the Council of the EU has still to formally adopt this new regime and the visa-free regime suspension mechanism, being negotiated in parallel to the liberalisation schemes, will also have to enter into force.
Parliament's report, which supports the visa liberalisation regime for Georgians, was supported at the plenary session in Brussels with 553 votes in favour, 63 against and 28 abstentions. It reports large-scale and complex reforms carried out by Georgia in order to obtain a visa exemption regime, the rapporteur, Mariya Gabriel (EPP, Bulgaria), stressed.
Thanks to this visa exemption, Georgians holding a biometric passport will be entitled to stay in the EU without a visa for 90 days in any period of 180 days, on business, for tourism or family reasons, but not in order to work.
Tbilissi has complied with all the criteria of its visa liberalisation plan, the report states. It also stresses that Georgia's continued respect for these criteria, particularly the fight against organised crime, will be duly verified by the European Commission.
These exemptions are valid throughout the Schengen area, which includes 22 member states of the EU (all except Ireland, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria) plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey are the three other countries for which visa liberalisation is pending, with Ukraine slightly in the lead. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)