The European Commission has put forth a legislative proposal to allow visa-free travel to the Schengen area for Georgian citizens.

The legislative proposal, which was published on the European Commission’s register of documents on March 9, has to be approved by the European Parliament and the EU-member states before it can go into force.

After approval from the European Parliament and the EU-member states, Georgian citizens, holding biometric passports, will be able to enter the Schengen area without visa more than one time during 90 days in any 180-day period.

The proposal says that Georgia has met all the reform targets envisaged by its visa liberalisation action plan, presented to the country in February 2013, and “therefore fulfils the relevant criteria for its citizens to be exempted from the visa requirement.”

EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, is expected to speak about the proposal at a news conference scheduled for later on March 9.