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Commissioner Avramopoulos welcomes the Council adoption of visa liberalisation for #Georgia and the revision of the visa suspension mechanism

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georgia passportToday (27 february), Commissioner Avramopoulos is in Tbilisi, Georgia, to welcome the adoption by the Council of the Commission proposal for visa liberalisation for Georgia.

On this occasion he said: "I am very pleased with today's final endorsement by the Council of the Commission's proposal to grant visa liberalisation to Georgia. Today is a historic day for Georgia and its citizens, who will soon be able to enjoy visa-free travel to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days. Today's adoption recognises the tremendous efforts undertaken by the Georgian authorities and the Georgian people to carry out far-reaching and difficult reforms in the area of the rule of law and the justice system. These reforms also bring Georgia closer to the EU standards, facilitating cooperation with the European Union and bringing the country a step forward on its European path. Today is an important step in EU-Georgia relations - I look forward to soon welcoming Georgian citizens traveling visa-free to the Schengen area."

 

Today, the Council also adopted the Commission's proposal to revise the visa suspension mechanism to allow the European Union to react much more quickly and in a more flexible manner to a situation of strong migratory pressure or an increased risk to the internal security. Commenting on this adoption, Commissioner Avramopoulos said: "I strongly welcome today's endorsement by the Council of the Commission's proposal to reinforce the visa suspension mechanism and ensure stronger safeguards for our visa policy. The revised mechanism will significantly strengthen and increase the effectiveness of the EU's visa liberalisation policy by allowing us to react quickly if a situation arises which could lead to a substantial increase in irregular migration or an increased risk to the internal security of Member States. With today's final adoption, we have together succeeded in making the suspension mechanism a more effective instrument for our common visa policy thanks to a flexible approach and a proportionate reaction in cases where a temporary suspension of visa-free travel is justified. In parallel, the new procedure will also allow us to maintain a strong dialogue and cooperation with visa-free third countries, with the objective of safeguarding and strengthening visa-free travel to the EU for its citizens."

The full statement by Commissioner Avramopoulos on the Council adoption of the visa liberalisation for Georgia is available here and the statement on the adoption of the revised visa suspension mechanism here. Questions and Answers on the revised suspension mechanism can be found here.

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