BRUSSELS: European Union member states on Monday approved visa-free travel for Georgia, after agreeing safeguards to prevent any upsurge in arrivals from the former Soviet satellite.

Georgia, along with much larger Ukraine, has been urging the EU to grant visa-free travel so as to show its citizens that close ties with Europe can deliver concrete benefits.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said the decision marked “a historic day for Georgia and its citizens.”

“Today’s adoption recognises the tremendous efforts undertaken by the Georgian authorities and the Georgian people to carry out far-reaching and difficult reforms,” Avramopoulos said, according to a statement of his remarks in Tblisi, the Georgian capital.

“These reforms also bring Georgia closer to EU standards, facilitating cooperation with the European Union and bringing the country a step forward on its European path,” he added.

Under the accord, which now requires formal signature by the 28 member states and the European Parliament, Georgian citizens will be able to travel visa-free for 90 days in the EU during any 180-day period.

The accord does not apply to the United Kingdom or Ireland.

The original plan caused some concern that Georgians might abuse the system to come and stay illegally in a European Union still grappling with the aftermath of the 2015 migrant crisis.

In December, member states decided to allow visa requirements to be reintroduced at short notice if there was an upsurge in arrivals. </s> “These reforms also bring Georgia closer to EU standards, facilitating cooperation with the European Union and bringing the country a step forward on its European path,” he added.

Under the accord, which now requires formal signature by the 28 member states and the European Parliament, Georgian citizens will be able to travel visa-free for 90 days in the EU during any 180-day period. The accord does not apply to the United Kingdom or Ireland. The original plan caused some concern that Georgians might abuse the system to come and stay illegally in a European Union still grappling with the aftermath of the 2015 migrant crisis. In December, member states decided to allow visa requirements to be reintroduced at short notice if there was an upsurge in arrivals. </s> BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve visa liberalization for Georgia, paving the way for Georgians to travel to the European Union's Schengen zone without obtaining visas.

European lawmakers backed visa liberalization, long anticipated in Georgia, by a vote of 553 to 66, with 28 abstentions.

Georgians will still have to wait for the European Parliament and the European Council to vote on a mechanism allowing for the suspension of visa-free regimes with countries, including Georgia and Ukraine, under certain circumstances once they are in place.

The suspension mechanism was given preliminary approval in December. EU diplomats have told RFE/RL that the final European Parliament vote is expected at the next plenary session, on February 13-16, and that EU member states are poised to agree on it on February 27 or 28.

Georgians are likely to be able to travel visa-free to the Schengen zone starting in late March or early April, diplomats say.

Georgia has long sought greater integration with Europe but has been frustrated with the pace of EU moves to bring it closer.

The South Caucasus country has faced persistent efforts by Russia to increase its influence since the two former Soviet republics fought a five-day war in 2008.

The 26 Schengen Area countries are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. </s> BRUSSELS -- Georgian nationals with biometric passports will be able to travel to most European Union member states without visas as of March 28.

The day has been eagerly anticipated by Tbilisi, which has long sought closer ties with the EU while facing persistent efforts by Russia to increase Moscow's influence following a brief war with Georgia in 2008.

The European Commission recommended in December 2015 that visa restrictions for Georgians be lifted but negotiations among EU member states initially proved difficult.

The talks between the European Parliament and the European Council on a visa-suspension mechanism that took place in parallel with the visa liberalization talks also slowed the process.

That mechanism, which also enters into force on March 28, allows for visa-free regimes for Georgians to be halted under certain circumstances once they are in place.

The visa-liberalization deal for Georgia will apply to all EU countries except Britain and Ireland, and will also not be honored in the non-EU Schengen Area countries of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. </s> BRUSSELS — The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve visa liberalization for Georgia, paving the way for Georgians to travel to the European Union’s Schengen zone without obtaining visas.

European lawmakers backed visa liberalization, long anticipated in Georgia, by a vote of 553 to 66, with 28 abstentions.

Georgians will still have to wait for the European Parliament and the European Council to vote on a mechanism allowing for the suspension of visa-free regimes with countries, including Georgia and Ukraine, under certain circumstances once they are in place.

The suspension mechanism was given preliminary approval in December. EU diplomats have told RFE/RL that the final European Parliament vote is expected at the next plenary session, on February 13-16, and that EU member states are poised to agree on it on February 27 or 28.

Georgians are likely to be able to travel visa-free to the Schengen zone starting in late March or early April, diplomats say.

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. </s> The European Parliament voted in a landslide Thursday to back visa-free travel for Georgian citizens to 30 European countries.

Voting 553-66, with 28 abstentions, lawmakers granted Georgia's long-sought privilege to travel to the European Union's Schengen zone without obtaining visas.

The visa-free regime was met with excitement and national festivities in the small Eastern European country that's striving for European Union membership while Russian troops occupy two breakaway regions.

“Today is a day of historical significance for Georgia,” Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said in a statement issued before the plenary vote.

The country's long-awaited visa liberalization enables biometric passport holders to enter the Schengen area for 90 days within any 180-day period.

“Abkhaz and Ossetian compatriots ... will benefit from this decision,” he said, referring to the two Russian-occupied breakaway regions where the majority of citizens are forced to obtain Russian passports. In order to benefit from a visa-free regime, residents of the breakaway regions will need to obtain biometric passports of Georgia, which are inaccessible in occupied territories.

EU support for Georgia's visa liberalization is viewed as a significant geopolitical achievement among officials and civil society activists who have been strong voices for European integration.

Pro-European pundit Ivane Chkhikvadze, head of Euro-integration program at Open Society Foundation — also known as Soros Foundation — called Thursday's vote a “credibility test” for European support, as Georgia “has successfully met all the requirements of EU's 2011 Warsaw Summit Declaration,” in which representatives of the European Union renewed “their commitment to the objectives and continued implementation of the Eastern Partnership.”

The Eastern Partnership is part of a broader EU initiative to shape relations and integration with post-Soviet states and eastern neighbors.

“Georgia must apply to EU membership and must do it now,” Chkhikvadze told VOA's Georgian Service, adding that it will take a strong political will on part of government officials to complete the application. “It will take years of hard work, and the sooner we beginning the journey, the sooner we become the EU member.”

Davit Bakradze, Georgia's current ambassador to the United States, called the vote an important step in approximating EU standards, which is key to another of long-term national aspiration: NATO membership.

“Georgia has a long road ahead” in terms of finalizing integration-focused reforms, he told VOA's Georgian Service.

Eka Gigauri, executive director of Transparency International Georgia, assumed that Thursday's vote may compel Moscow to demonstrate that the former Soviet republic remains within its sphere of influence.

“Georgia has reached one of the most important milestones of its foreign policy,” she told VOA's Georgian Service. “Euro integration will no longer be regarded as Georgia's one-way effort, and politicians in Europe should not be surprised when Georgia makes a call for membership.”

Russia has openly expressed concern over Georgia's EU and NATO aspirations, describing the country as part of its backyard.

Georgia, which has been seeking European integration since becoming the 41st Member State of the Council of Europe in April 1999, has drafted EU-style legislation to abolish the death penalty, comply with European conventions and battle corruption and organized crime.

The latest public opinion poll by Caucasus Research and Resources Center showed that 56 percent of Georgians identify as European.

The visa liberalization, once fully ratified, will allow Georgians to travel freely through all EU member and non-member countries, along with Schengen candidate countries.

EU member nations include Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

Non-member countries are Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Schengen candidates are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia and Romania.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Georgian Service. </s> European lawmakers passed a new law which could allow Georgian citizens to enter 22 EU member states except Ireland, the U.K., Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria -- plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland without a visa for short stays.

"The legislation still needs to be formally approved by the [European Council] and will only enter into force once the suspension mechanism, which allows the temporary reintroduction of visas in the event of migration surges or risks to public security, is in place," a European Parliament statement read. </s> Georgians are celebrating their newly won freedom to travel visa-free to most EU countries, with officials cheering it as a "historic" achievement for the country's nearly 4 million people.

There have been public celebrations across the country, and Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili joined students, journalists, and other state officials for an early morning flight from Tbilisi to Athens on March 28 to kick off the liberalized regime.

Kvirikashvili then continued on to Brussels, where he met with European Council President Donald Tusk.

At a joint press event, Tusk said, "it is a very special day for both the European Union and Georgia."

"It has been a long journey, but one that has brought us closer together," Tusk added.

The EU originally recommended lifting visa restrictions for Georgians in December 2015.

The process was bogged down by difficult negotiations among EU member states, many of whose populations have been gripped by security fears and a wariness of outsiders.

Georgian nationals with biometric passports can now travel visa-free to all EU member states except Britain and Ireland. It also applies to non-EU Schengen-area countries Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.

"This is an enormous achievement and a great opportunity for Georgian citizens to better acquaint [themselves] with the European Union, to better learn the values that the European Union stands on," Kvirikashvili told reporters at Tbilisi airport.

Georgia has long sought closer ties to the EU despite persistent efforts by Moscow to increase its influence among post-Soviet states including Georgia, which fought a brief war with Russia in 2008.

"I'm very glad that the process of visa liberalization was completed successfully," a fellow traveler on the Tbilisi-to-Athens flight, Tinatin Tsereteli, told RFE/RL's Georgian Service.

"I think it's a huge achievement for our country...to move further close to the EU. This is symbolic but also has a practical meaning, because our citizens will get a chance to get acquainted with EU countries."

Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has said that residents of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will also be eligible to travel to the EU without visas if they have biometric Georgian passports.

Following the 2008 war, Moscow recognized the two regions as independent countries and maintains a strong military presence in both of them. Almost the entire international community considers them part of Georgia.

On the eve of the visa-free regime, Janelidze called Georgia's "European path...irreversible" and said it will bring "positive results" in all walks of life.

"I will be probably one of the first Georgians entering Germany without a visa, it is really an exciting and pleasant feeling. It's like being part of something historic," Mikheil Chabukashvili told RFE/RL at the airport.

"Previous trips to Europe implied a lot of effort, and now I hope all Georgians take the opportunity to use all the benefits of visa-free travel."

Public celebrations were organized across the country to mark the milestone.

Georgian and EU flags were installed on the streets of the capital and projected onto the government administration building, and a gala concert was held on Europe Square in downtown Tbilisi.

"I think it is a huge step forward for the country, especially young people will benefit from it," a Tbilisi resident said. "Many of them will be able to fulfill their dreams. Some of them may even start a business. Anyway, it's very exciting and very good."

But not everyone was so enthusiastic.

"For whoever is in the mood for sightseeing, it's probably good," an elderly Tbilisi resident said, "But for people like me, what can they do?"

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili suggested via Twitter that the visa liberalization was another step toward closer ties to Western institutions. "Thanks to our friends! Go #Georgia towards European Integration!"

The Georgians' embrace is a welcome change for EU officials otherwise occupied with the bloc's looming Brexit talks, uncertainty over a new U.S. administration, and surging nationalism and xenophobia following Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn sent his "sincere congratulations" via Twitter and told Georgians to "enjoy Europe."

President Dalia Grybauskaite of EU member Lithuania released a video address on YouTube to congratulate Georgians on what she called a "special day."

"From now on, our nations will be even closer all because of the efforts of the Georgian people," Grybauskaite said. "Your commitment to freedom and democracy is an example for the region."

The visa negotiations between Tbilisi and Brussels were slowed by concurrent talks between the European Parliament and the European Council on a visa-suspension mechanism. That mechanism, which also entered into force on March 28, allows for visa-free travel to be suspended on security grounds.

Prime Minister Kvirikashvili said on March 24 that Georgian authorities would "notify the EU member states and launch a proactive search of nonreturnees to ensure the activation of readmission procedures."

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak, RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Georgia Today, Civil.ge, and Agenda.ge </s> Visa waiver policy for Georgian citizens expected by March as proposal overcomes last hurdle.

The European Parliament has approved a proposal on visa liberalisation for Georgia, allowing conditional visa-free travel for citizens of the small post-Soviet country.

The policy, which has a snap-back mechanism in case of mass violation of terms, was approved on Thursday with 553 votes in favour, 66 against and 28 abstentions.

The short-term travel visa waiver - expected to come into force in late March following formal approval by the European Council - applies to the Schengen area, which includes 26 countries.

Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the country's prime minister, called it "a truly historic day", expressing gratitude to the EU body.

He also said the government was convinced that Georgians would show "exceptional responsibility in accepting this milestone result and achievement, and will scrupulously observe the laws of host countries".

"Indeed, today marks Georgia's great success! Today's decision will prove that Georgia's policy on drawing closer to the European Union brings tangible results for every Georgian citizen," Kvirikashvili said on Twitter.

Georgia, with only 3.7 million citizens, will lose visa exemption for nine months if its citizens suddenly start making many more asylum requests; stay in the bloc for longer than 90 days at a time; or cause a "substantial increase in the risk to public policy or internal security".

If problems persists, the bloc would be able to extend the suspension for another 18 months in a more complex procedure that would also give the European Parliament a say.

Georgia sees visa-free travel to the EU as part of a geopolitical tussle with Russia over the ex-Soviet state's Western aspirations, which Moscow opposes.

The republic was at the heart of international tensions in 2008 when a five-day war between Tbilisi and Moscow in August led to the previous sharp decline in ties between Russia and the West.

The prospect of easier travel to Europe has been used by the pro-Western government in Tbilisi to win popular backing for painful EU-sponsored reforms.

The EU-Georgia talks on visa liberalisation started in June 2012.
Georgia's visa-free regime, which allows travel to most member states of the European Union, with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom, enters into force.