Georgia, EU to Move to Visa-Free Regime in 2016: Georgian Minister

Georgia and the European Union will move to a visa-free regime in 2016, said Georgian State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Aleksi Petriashvili, reports Georgia Online [RU]. 

"We are now at the final stage of the first phase of a two-phase action plan on visa liberalization and hope that we will move to the second phase in the autumn. In less than a year, we hope to reach a decision on a visa-free regime with the EU. 

"With regard to implementation, then, according to the most conservative estimates, it will begin sometime in early 2016, " he said in an interview to Lenta.ru. 

Recall, Georgia signed an Association Agreement with the EU in Brussels on June 27, but, unlike for Moldova, Brussels has postponed the introduction of visa-free regime with Georgia.