EU VISA PROBLEM HAS HINDERED EXPORTS OF GEORGIAN WINEMAKERS.

The EU parliament and Council struck a deal last week on the issue of visa liberalization for Ukraine and Georgia. The EU Commission and Member States will be able to re-impose visa requirements under new rules agreed by Parliament and Council on 7 December 2016.

The European Union parliament will be debating this issue on the 14th December in Strasbourg followed by a vote on the 15th December. 

This agreement will enable the immediate consideration of the two visa liberalization proposals for Georgia and Ukraine. According to the deal, visa requirements may be reintroduced for a non-EU country if there is: a substantial increase in the number of nationals of that country refused entry; an increase in unfounded asylum applications; or a lack of cooperation on returns of migrants.

Georgian winemakers are hoping that the EU will grant Georgia visa liberalisation in 2017 and thereby make it easier for them to export to the EU market. Interviews with winemaker Levan Paghava (in Georgian) and Dorota Dlouchy-Suliga (in English with voice-over), Head of Political and Press Section, EU Delegation to Georgia

00:00 Various set-up shots of winemaker Levan Paghava in his shop in Tbilisi.

00:09 Selects a bottle. 00:15 uncorks bottle;

00:21 Pours himself a glass.

00:25 close up of glass; 0

0:27 soundbite of Levan Paghava in Georgia

Soundbite of Levan Paghava:

‘There’s a visa problem. If we want to familiarise Europeans with our wines we absolutely have to attend the wine festivals so that we get known, we need to get the distributors interested in us and then start working together. In this respect, visa liberalisation would really help small producers to break into the European market.’

00:49 - Selects bottle from shelf;

00:56 - mid-shot of shelves of wine;

01:01 - close shot of labels;

01:04 soundbite of Dorota Dlouchy- Suliga in English with Georgian voice-over.
01:04 Soundbite of Dorota Dlouchy-Suliga, Head of Political and Press Section, EU Delegation to Georgia
This is an approximate translation from the Georgian. Clean synch of Dlouchy-Suliga to be sent.

“Georgian companies will be able to go to Europe and trade freely whether products they are selling, whether this be wine, fruits, meat or whatever. The main thing is that they will have to ensure that Georgian products meet EU standards.

Visa liberalisation is only for 90-day visits, so they will have to operate within that time-frame. 0

1:33 GVs of bottles of wine;

01:38 mid-shot in cellar tasting wine;

01:42 close-up drinking wine;

01:44 - close-up smelling wine; more GVs.

CUE: The prospect of visa liberalisation is encouraging independent Georgian winemakers to think of exporting their wine in greater quantities to the European market. Competition, of course, will be fierce, but the Georgians are hoping that their 8000-year-old tradition of viticulture will give them a special market niche. 8000 years of wine- making history and a unique method of making wine in clay amphoras - kvevris - buried in the ground. This report from Vera Iashvili and Eldar Elikashvili:

Natural Sound - bottle of wine being uncorked

Wine-maker and businessman Levan Paghava has been making kvevri wines in the village of Iqalto for four years. He uses separavi and rkatsiteli grapes.

He produces just 10,000 bottles a year and sells them in his own shop in Tbilisi at 70 laris (26 euros) a bottle. He’s thinking of expanding his business by selling his wine in Europe - but the existing visa regime makes that almost impossible.
SOT of Levan Paghava, winemaker

‘There’s a visa problem. If we want to familiarise Europeans with our wines we absolutely have to attend the wine festivals so that we get known, we need to get the distributors interested in us and then start working together. In this respect, visa liberalisation would really help small producers to break into the European market.’

Like Levan, other Georgian winemakers are resting their hopes on visa liberalisation. But before that can happen, they’ll have to bring their output into line with EU regulations.

SOT of Dorota Dlouchy-Suliga, Head of Political and Press Section, EU Delegation to Georgia
‘Representatives of Georgian companies will be able to go to Europe to market their products, to make partnerships with European companies, in order to export their goods to Europe.’

You can already buy Georgian wine on the EU market but only in small quantities. But the possibility of visa liberalisation is encouraging Georgian winemakers to increase their production and export varieties like rkatsiteli, saperavi, kisi and khikhvi in bigger quantities to Europe. By making Georgian products more readily available to European consumers, our winemakers are also bringing Georgia itself closer to European values.