Video: https://youtu.be/p-Pyf3-c7Xw
Opening remarks
Honourable Members,
Dear Ms Gabriel,
I would like to thank you for all the hard work you have put into getting where we are today.
Georgia has been exemplary in fulfilling a demanding roadmap which allowed us to propose to you and the Council visa liberalisation for its citizens.
I am therefore very pleased that Georgian citizens with a biometric passport will soon be able to travel to the Schengen area without a visa for short stays up to 90 days.
It is a very important achievement indeed. And it has been a long process. The EU-Georgia Visa Liberalisation Dialogue started in June 2012.
The continuous monitoring and reporting carried out since then showed that Georgia has made the necessary progress. Georgia has undertaken all the necessary reforms to meet all of the benchmarks.
Therefore, following the positive assessment of the progress reports, the Commission proposed in March 2016 to lift the visa requirement for Georgian citizens holding a biometric passport.
This will be done by amending the Visa Regulation. This proposal took also into account the overall EU-Georgia relations. The hard work of the Georgian authorities over the past three years has paid off.
The Commission will continue to monitor Georgia’s continuous compliance with the visa liberalisation criteria, in particular on fighting organised crime.
Because, as I have said on other occasions, these reforms also bring Georgia closer to the EU standards, facilitating the cooperation with the European Union and bringing the country a step forward on its European path.
I would like to remind you that visa-free travel for Georgia will enter into force at the same time as the revised suspension mechanism, even though they are two separate issues.
In addition, the suspension mechanism applies to all visa-free countries horizontally – not just Georgia. It will be an important tool to further enhance security for the EU but also a catalyst that will enable our visa-liberalisation policy to expand.
Visa liberalisation with Georgia is an essential contribution to strengthen cultural and economic ties between Georgian and EU citizens. Because let’s not forget, visa-free travel is a tangible tool of European integration that directly concerns the citizens.
And I would like to share a personal experience with you: when I first visited Tbilisi as European Commissioner I was impressed by the many European Union flags around the city.
I was touched, because in a period where we, in the EU Member States, take our Union for granted and where we see anti-European rhetorics develop, the citizens of Georgians remind us what a unique achievement of peace and prosperity the European Union is.
Dear Members of the European Parliament, let me conclude by calling on you to support the proposal on the table later during the votes.
Closing Remarks
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Thank you for this debate. I am glad that there is large consensus in this House on the need to keep the promises the EU has made to the Georgian citizens.
The Georgian government has worked very hard to fulfil all the benchmarks of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. Should there be any problems after visa liberalisation, the revised suspension mechanism is there to deal with that.
We will continue to monitor the situation. There is no need to delay this important file any further. Let’s proceed with the voting of the report of Ms Gabriel, which will bring us one more step closer to the conclusion of the whole procedure to grant visa-free travel for Georgian citizens.