EU opens up visa-free travel to Georgia

ANKARA (AA) - EU states on Monday backed visa-free travel for Georgian citizens entering Europe’s 26-county Schengen travel area.

According to the European Council, citizens of Georgia with biometric passports will be able to travel without a visa for business, tourism or family visits, for up to 90 days in the destination country.

The deal still needs to be ratified by the European Council and the European Parliament but should come into force in just under three weeks.

Ireland and the United Kingdom will not be included in the deal at they are non-Schengen nations.

In a statement, Malta's Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said the visa liberalization agreement would bring Georgian and EU people closer together and would strengthen tourism and business ties.

Georgia completed the EU's criterions for visa-free travel in December 2015. However, negotiations between the EU institutions on the suspension mechanism had delayed the ratification process.