Georgian PM Meets President of European Parliament in Brussels
President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz said after the meeting with visiting Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in Brussels on November 30 that they discussed the issue of visa liberalisation “very intensively.”
“We went into the details of the ongoing negotiations between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. I expressed to the Prime Minister that I am still optimistic to find in the next coming days the solution between the Council and the European Parliament, a compromise on the so called suspension mechanism,” he said at a joint news briefing after the meeting.
Tbilisi expects short-term visa-free travel to the Schengen area for Georgian citizens for a long time already. Despite certain progress, the relevant procedures have yet to be finalized. On September 5, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted in favor of opening inter-institutional negotiations on Georgia’s visa waiver proposal. A month later, on October 5 the Committee of EU ambassadors in Brussels (Coreper), on behalf of the EU Council, agreed a negotiating position on visa liberalisation for Georgia. It, however, made it clear that the entry into force of visa liberalisation for Georgia should be at the same time as the entry into force of the new, easier and faster visa-free suspension mechanism. Discussions on this issue are still underway between the European Parliament and the Council.
“We are expecting that internal procedures in Brussels will be finalized in the near future and expectations of Georgian population will be fulfilled,” PM Kvirikashvili said and added that he had “a very frank, open discussion” with Martin Schulz on visa liberalisation.
He also thanked President Schulz “for his personal contribution to build Georgia’s European future.”
Martin Schulz said that on behalf of the European Parliament he expressed “unconditional support” to Georgia’s territorial integrity and also discussed the regional situation of the country in relation to the neighbors.
The President of the European Parliament congratulated Kvirikashvili on “very large victory” in the October parliamentary elections.
According to the Georgian Prime Minister’s office, the sides stressed the importance of democratic reforms, including effective implementation of justice reform in the country.
