Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2
Trend:
The European Parliament voted Feb. 2 to approve visa waivers for citizens of Georgia, Sputnik reports.
The 553-66 vote, with 28 abstentions, was broadcast by the legislature's and the European Commission's audiovisual services.
The next step in the process is 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.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs approved the visa waiver for Georgia last month.