Latvian FM Reiterates Support for EU Visa Liberalisation for Georgia

Georgia has “made all the necessary steps” in the visa liberalisation process with the EU and there should be no delay in decision making after the European Commission releases its report, Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said after meeting his Georgian counterpart in Tbilisi on November 24.
 
The European Commission will release in mid-December the report on how Georgia is implementing its visa liberalization action plan, set of reform targets that a country is required to meet in order to get short-term visa free travel rules with the Schengen area.

“We spent quite a lot of time discussing EU-Georgia relations,” said Rinkēvičs after the meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

“We all are waiting for the report of the European Commission concerning visa liberalisation… I have reiterated full support of my country for visa liberalisation program. As soon as the report is out we see no reason to delay the practical decision making [in respect of visa liberalisation], because we have seen that the country made all the necessary steps and we in the European Union have to keep our promises as Georgia has kept its promise,” said the Latvian Foreign Minister, who is paying an official visit to Georgia.
 
Speaking at a joint news conference with the Georgian counterpart, Rinkēvičs also noted importance to continue reforms, including in the judiciary, and said there was a “positive development” when it comes to new legislation on prosecutor’s office.

“I’ve also stressed paramount importance [of having] strong, independent judiciary, and it is equally important to have strong and independent media,” he said, adding that it is especially important ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.

On Georgia’s NATO integration he said that he discussed with the Georgian counterpart “those political and practical messages” that the Alliance has to make in respect of Georgia at its summit next year.

“If you look at both – the European integration in the Eastern Partnership on the one hand and the Euro-Atlantic integration – we see that Georgia is a clear frontrunner in the both processes and it is very important to keep the pace from the both side – from the Georgian side, but also from our side,” Rinkēvičs said.

Also on November 24 the Latvian Foreign Minister met Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili and a group of Georgian lawmakers; he will also meet President Giorgi Margvelashvili and PM Irakli Garibashvili. During the visit he will also travel to the areas adjacent to the administrative boundary line with breakaway South Ossetia and visit a kindergarten in the village of Ditsi of Gori municipality, which was equipped with the support from the Latvian Embassy in Georgia.