EU supports Georgia before Eastern Partnership Summit

"Georgia is a country of European culture and values”, said European Parliament President Martin Schulz during a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili today.

The meeting was held within the official visit of Garibashvili to Brussels, where he is scheduled to meet a number of high EU officials including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

Schulz also noted Georgia was the leader of the Eastern Partnership countries and said this would be "very specifically demonstrated” at the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Riga in May 2015.

Georgia’s European future was heavily discussed at today’s meeting. The sides spoke about Georgia’s implementation of reforms defined in the agenda of the Association Agreement (AA), which was signed between Georgia and the European Union (EU) last year.

Garibashvili mentioned the importance of a visa-free regime with the EU and noted his country’s successful implementation of the reforms provided by the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP). He also emphasised Georgia’s aspiration to be a success story at the Riga Summit.

The Georgian official said his country had taken "exceptional” steps to strengthen democratic institutions, the rule of law and the region's energy security.

Meanwhile, Russia’s actions in the occupied territories of Georgia were also discussed and both sides agreed this was a step towards annexation of Georgian land.

"The EU expresses its readiness to provide maximum support to Georgia in terms of the security challenges,” Schulz told Garibashvili.

On another note, in Brussels Garibashvili also sat down with chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Affairs, Elmar Brok, and invited him to Georgia. The Georgian PM believed this visit would be "an excellent opportunity” to demonstrate Georgia's successful democratic development and exemplary relations with the EU.

In this respect, both sides highlighted the political importance of the ratification of the AA by European Parliament. PM Garibashvili assessed this as another historic step and the EU’s demonstration of unwavering support for Georgia's European aspirations.