Georgian PM in Riga for Eastern Partnership Summit
Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili arrived on Wednesday in the Latvian capital Riga to participate in the EU Eastern Partnership summit on May 21-22.
According to the Georgian PM’s office, on the sideline of the summit Garibashvili plans series of bilateral meetings, among them with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, as well as with his counterparts from Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Greece.
A group of almost hundred members of the European Parliament called on the EU to adopt at the summit “clear, strong and forward looking” declaration, which would address “high ambitions” of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – three out of six Eastern Partnership countries, which have signed association agreements with the EU.
In a joint letter, MEPs urge to “send a positive signal with regard to these countries future membership in the European Union” and “to commit to extending the visa-free regime to the citizens of Georgia and Ukraine.” Moldova was granted visa-free travel to the Schengen area year ago.
“It is our conviction that adopting these two measures is in the mutual interest of the European Union and its three Associated Partners and will represent significant progress for all parties concerned,” reads the letter. “For this reason, we look forward to seeing decisive action during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga with a view to visa liberalisation for Georgia and Ukraine and the opening of a European perspective for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.”
Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili is also expected to be in Riga on May 21 as he is invited to participate in the meeting of the European People’s Party, which is a partner of United National Movement party (UNM), chaired by Saakashvili.
