26.02.2015

Elmar Brok holds bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia Mr Irakli Garibashvili

The chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr Elmar Brok, met this morning with the Prime Minister of Georgia Mr Irakli Garibashvili to discuss different issues such as visa liberalisation and Russia’s policy towards Georgia.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of visa liberalisation, and of getting a green light from the European Commission before the Riga summit (21st of May 2015), all in the context of giving more tangible results of the EU-Georgia relations to his citizens. Mr Garibashvili also noted some difficulties in implementing the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), a free trade area expected to be established by the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement. The Prime Minister mainly worries about Russia’s current attempts to sabotage the implementation.

Therefore, Mr Brok and Mr Garibashvili agreed that it is of outmost importance to carry out projects in the regions which show the benefits of the DCFTA and to increase the visibility of the EU.

Elmar Brok supports the negotiations on visa liberalisation and suggested that for the time being the EU should facilitate further visas for young people (younger than 25 years) to travel during the summer. Brok had already discussed this idea with Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

Mr Brok was invited to visit Tbilisi before the summer.