The European Union has activated a visa-free regime for Georgia since January 1, 2017

The European Commission appealed to the Council of Heads of State and Government of the EU, as well as the European Parliament with an official recommendation to include Georgia in the list of countries whose citizens have the right to visit the Schengen state on a short visit without a visa. There has never been a case in the history of the EU when a positive decision was not taken after such an appeal. This means that a little earlier or a little later, but the doors of Europe will open wide for Georgian citizens. They will be able to stay and move freely in the Schengen area for 90 days in six months.

Georgia has been breaking through to a visa-free regime with the EU for years. Ever since the late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania in 1999 solemnly announced in Strasbourg at the ceremony of Georgia's accession to the Council of Europe: "I am Georgian, which means I am European!" A month later, President Eduard Shevardnadze said in an interview with Western media: "In 2005, Georgia will knock on NATO's door."

The leaders of the European Union took such an important step for Georgia at the very moment when Europe, according to many, is suffocating from the influx of migrants from the Middle East, and illegal migration threatens the living standards of Europeans and undermines the foundations of the European Union. When many EU countries are thinking about restoring their interstate borders, when the popularity of anti-immigrant and Eurosceptic parties is growing rapidly, and the UK is discussing the possibility of leaving the EU. It is at this moment that the EU leadership promises to abolish visas for Georgians from this summer.