The News in Brief
Monday, March 27
Interior Minister Pledges Closer Partnership with Brussels
Minister of Internal Affairs (MIA) Giorgi Mghebrishvili held several meetings with EU and NATO officials in Brussels on March 20-23, seeking to reassure Georgia's European partners of the country's vigilance and commitment to reforms just as the visa-free travel to the Schengen group of European countries is slated to come into effect on March 28. The matters of migration, border security and fight against organized crime have dominated the agenda in meetings with Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship issues; Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, and Rose Gottemoeler, NATO Deputy Secretary General. The hosts acknowledged Georgia’s progress and the MIA role in making visa-free travel a reality.
During an encounter with Commissioner Avramopoulos on March 22, the two reportedly spoke about the fight against illegal migration, trafficking, organized crime, integrated border management and international police cooperation. Mghebrishvili announced that soon Georgia will sign an agreement with EUROPOL on cooperation at the operative and strategic level, “after which Georgia will become EUROPOL partner state.” He emphasized that Georgia has signed 16 bilateral agreements with the EU member states to fight against crime, and has deployed police attaches in 13 partner states, “which already has brought significant results”.
“Georgian citizens will find the doors open to travel to Europe, but beyond that, today with the Minister we discussed stronger and deeper cooperation in the field of security, fight against organized crime and I can say that I am very happy for the outcome of this excellent discussion,” Commissioner Avramopoulos responded.
Reforms Ahead
On March 23, Minister Mghebrishvili was at the European Policy Centre (EPC), a think tank, where he spoke about successes that allowed Georgia to benefit from visa waiver.
Combatting trafficking in human being was highlighted as one of the areas of such success. The Minister noted that U.S State Department in its 2016 report placed Georgia at “Tier 1” among 176 states for a successful fight against trafficking.
The Minister also introduced to the audience some ongoing and planned reform projects, including reforms in criminal police, analytical police activities, launch of a multi-functional joint operations center and a move towards service-oriented police.
Visa Waiver Approaching
As the date of visa-free travel nears, Tbilisi is determined to avoid triggering the so-called "suspension mechanism,” that would temporarily suspend visa-free travel if Georgians try to abuse the system.
The Prime Minister stated on March 23 that the Georgian border guards will be alerted if a Georgian citizen overstays the 90-day limit established for visa-free travel within any 180-day period. In such cases, Georgia would pro-actively inform the EU member-states and seek to activate the re-admission procedure, PM said.
(civil.ge)
2 Georgian citizens released from illegal detention in breakaway Tskhinvali
Two men detained near Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) have been released.
The men were released from their illegal detention late last night, local media reported.
The men were arrested earlier yesterday by de facto Tskhinvali "border” guards, who accused them of illegally crossing the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between breakaway Tskhinvali region and the rest of Georgia.
Russian border guards patrolling the ABL detained Eldar Bulbulashvili and Muraz Gvinadze in the outskirts of the village of Kodistskaro, Kaspi municipality and took them to the detention facility in Tskhinvali.
Neighbours of both men claimed neither had crossed the ABL, explaining the pair were kidnapped from the Tbilisi-controlled area.
The illegal detention of Georgian citizens by Russian guards is a common issue near the ABL. Detainees are usually released once their family pays a fine.
Based on official data, 915 people have been illegally detained for allegedly crossing the ABL since 2010.
(Agenda.ge)
Minister of Internal Affairs (MIA) Giorgi Mghebrishvili held several meetings with EU and NATO officials in Brussels on March 20-23, seeking to reassure Georgia's European partners of the country's vigilance and commitment to reforms just as the visa-free travel to the Schengen group of European countries is slated to come into effect on March 28. The matters of migration, border security and fight against organized crime have dominated the agenda in meetings with Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship issues; Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, and Rose Gottemoeler, NATO Deputy Secretary General. The hosts acknowledged Georgia’s progress and the MIA role in making visa-free travel a reality.
During an encounter with Commissioner Avramopoulos on March 22, the two reportedly spoke about the fight against illegal migration, trafficking, organized crime, integrated border management and international police cooperation. Mghebrishvili announced that soon Georgia will sign an agreement with EUROPOL on cooperation at the operative and strategic level, “after which Georgia will become EUROPOL partner state.” He emphasized that Georgia has signed 16 bilateral agreements with the EU member states to fight against crime, and has deployed police attaches in 13 partner states, “which already has brought significant results”.
“Georgian citizens will find the doors open to travel to Europe, but beyond that, today with the Minister we discussed stronger and deeper cooperation in the field of security, fight against organized crime and I can say that I am very happy for the outcome of this excellent discussion,” Commissioner Avramopoulos responded.
Reforms Ahead
On March 23, Minister Mghebrishvili was at the European Policy Centre (EPC), a think tank, where he spoke about successes that allowed Georgia to benefit from visa waiver.
Combatting trafficking in human being was highlighted as one of the areas of such success. The Minister noted that U.S State Department in its 2016 report placed Georgia at “Tier 1” among 176 states for a successful fight against trafficking.
The Minister also introduced to the audience some ongoing and planned reform projects, including reforms in criminal police, analytical police activities, launch of a multi-functional joint operations center and a move towards service-oriented police.
Visa Waiver Approaching
As the date of visa-free travel nears, Tbilisi is determined to avoid triggering the so-called "suspension mechanism,” that would temporarily suspend visa-free travel if Georgians try to abuse the system.
The Prime Minister stated on March 23 that the Georgian border guards will be alerted if a Georgian citizen overstays the 90-day limit established for visa-free travel within any 180-day period. In such cases, Georgia would pro-actively inform the EU member-states and seek to activate the re-admission procedure, PM said.
(civil.ge)
2 Georgian citizens released from illegal detention in breakaway Tskhinvali
Two men detained near Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) have been released.
The men were released from their illegal detention late last night, local media reported.
The men were arrested earlier yesterday by de facto Tskhinvali "border” guards, who accused them of illegally crossing the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between breakaway Tskhinvali region and the rest of Georgia.
Russian border guards patrolling the ABL detained Eldar Bulbulashvili and Muraz Gvinadze in the outskirts of the village of Kodistskaro, Kaspi municipality and took them to the detention facility in Tskhinvali.
Neighbours of both men claimed neither had crossed the ABL, explaining the pair were kidnapped from the Tbilisi-controlled area.
The illegal detention of Georgian citizens by Russian guards is a common issue near the ABL. Detainees are usually released once their family pays a fine.
Based on official data, 915 people have been illegally detained for allegedly crossing the ABL since 2010.
(Agenda.ge)