MFA: Georgia continues to meet visa-free travel requirements and makes progress in implementing previous European Commission recommendations

Today, the European Commission published the 4th report on visa-free travel, which states that the visa-free regime brings positive economic, social and cultural benefits to both partner and EU member states, - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

According to the Ministry, the report positively assesses the progress made by Georgia in terms of border management, including with the support of the EU Assistance Program SAFE and member states, especially Latvia.

"The report positively assesses that on February 11, 2021, Georgia renewed the working agreement with the European Border Management Agency (Frontex).

It also welcomes the amendments to the Law on Exit and Entry into Georgia, which aims to prevent visa-free travel violations from Georgia through improved controls.

The report also positively assesses the progress made in terms of migration management within the country, including adopting the 2021-2030 migration strategy and action plan, approving a methodology for a unified system of risk analysis, and more. It is also a significant achievement that Georgia has had observer status in the European Migration Network (EMN) since March 2021.

The report welcomes Georgia's cooperation with member states in the readmission and return of Georgian citizens illegally staying in EU member states, which is a key component in maintaining a visa-free regime with the EU.

Overall, the report positively assesses Georgia's implementation of the recommendations made in the previous European Commission report, including the Georgian side's efforts to reduce unfounded asylum applications by Georgian citizens - through legislative changes, enhanced cooperation with FRONTEX and member states, and a network of police attachés.

In 2020, Georgia was one of the countries from which the number of asylum applications decreased. In particular, compared to 2019, in 2020 asylum applications decreased by 60%, while the share of positive decisions increased from 4.1% to 4.6%. In 2020, only 30 cases of illegal border crossing from Georgia were registered (10 times less than in 2019). Also, the number of people illegally staying in the EU decreased (by 13%).

The report generally praises Georgia's security cooperation with member states and EU agencies (Europol, Eurojust). The fight against organized crime by Georgia is also positively assessed. During the year, the country's legislative and operational activities in the field of organized crime, drugs, human trafficking and cybercrime were in line with EU recommendations. Georgia is also positively assessed in terms of the fight against corruption - all the recommendations of the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) have been partially or fully implemented.

The European Commission positively assesses the country's legislative work in the fight against terrorism, as well as international cooperation. The report briefly reviews the 4th wave of judicial reform. In conclusion, it is noted that Georgia continues to fulfill the requirements of the visa-free regime and the recommendations of the European Commission", - reads the report.