Georgian PM Thanks EU Parliament Approval of Visa Waiver for Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili thanked on Thursday the European Parliament for the approval to introduce a visa-free regime for Georgian nationals traveling to the bloc.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the European Parliament voted to approve visa waiver for citizens of Georgia.

"Congratulations! This is a trully Historic Day! Thank you @Europarl_EN 4 granting #VisaFreeTravel to citizens of #Georgia!," Kvirikashvili said on Twitter.

Congratulations! This is a trully Historic Day! Thank you @Europarl_EN 4 granting #VisaFreeTravel to citizens of #Georgia! #GeoVisaFree #EU

— Giorgi Kvirikashvili (@KvirikashviliGi) 2 февраля 2017 г.

​The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) said that the next step in the process was for the European Council to formally adopt the visa waiver.

The European Commission issued the visa-free regime proposal for Georgian citizens in March 2016.

In December 2016, the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission reached an agreement on an emergency suspension mechanism to be triggered in case of overwhelming migration. Such an agreement has been among the conditions raised by the Council for the liberalization of the visa regime for Ukraine and Georgia.

LIBE approved the visa waiver for Georgia last month.