French Ambassador: People should be capable of satisfying their needs while in Europe, so this is something that should be tightly checked both in Georgia and France

People should be capable of satisfying their needs while in Europe, so this is something that should be tightly checked both in Georgia and France, French Ambassador to Georgia Diego Colas told InterPressNews.

As the Ambassador explained, the reason for the above initiative was the people who violate visa-free movement requirements.

“We have a visa-free regime, which is a great success, which gives many Georgians the opportunity to travel without visas within the EU. Alongside this success, there are certain people breaking the asylum system. So now we have a problem with the asylum system and health service management. For these reasons, we would like the documents to be checked when people leave Georgia for the EU. Visa-free regime does not imply exemption from all obligations. There are certain conditions that must be met when traveling to the European Union and one of them is that one has to be capable of satisfying his/her needs while in Europe, so this is something that should be tightly checked both in Georgia and France,” said Diego Colas.

The Ambassador plans to visit Kutaisi airport in a few days to see the situation on the ground.

“I do not have any specific information on when exactly this policy will start. I will visit Kutaisi Airport in about 10 days to find out how the process is going on. We are very eager to start tightening border control. Our policy is not just about control, it is about organizing free movement and it will bring Georgia and the EU even closer to each other. For this reason, we also want to promote travel for employment, though I mean legal and controlled employment," - said the Ambassador.

According to Diego Colas, the agreement on legal employment is now entering into force and the parties are working on its implementation.

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