European Parliament confirms Georgia’s right to join the EU

The European Parliament has declared Georgia eligible to qualify for European Union (EU) membership only if the country adheres to the principles of democracy, respect fundamental freedoms and human and minority rights and ensure the rule of law.

A resolution adopted by the European Parliament and approved at a session in Strasbourg on Thursday that discussed the situation in Ukraine, fully assured the rights of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to have a European perspective.

"Pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – like any other European state – have a European perspective and may apply to become members of the Union provided that they adhere to the principles of democracy, respect fundamental freedoms and human and minority rights and ensure the rule of law,” read the resolution.

In addition, the document stressed Georgia’s signing of the Association Agreement (AA) with the EU was not the final goal of cooperation between Tbilisi and the EU.

The AA, which included the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), was signed together with the EU last month with the aim of setting up an all-embracing framework to conduct bilateral relations.

Today, Parliament of Georgia is expected to ratify the AA in front of local and international observers.

The EU’s agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have already been ratified by Romania, Lithuania and Latvia. The agreement must be ratified by all the EU member states and the European Parliament before the deal can come into force.

The July 17 resolution saw the European Parliament call EaP counties for swift ratification of the AA documents.