European Parliament President congratulates Kvirikashvili for “exceptional election result”
Tweet 
Share
President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz is satisfied with how Georgia conducted the October Parliamentary Elections and has offered his congratulations to the country's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili for his "very large victory”.
Schulz and Kvirikashvili met in Brussels a short time ago within Kvirikashvili’s three-day Belgium visit, which started today.
Happy to welcome #Georgia Prime Minister @KvirikashviliGi in #EP – LIVE press statement to follow at 13.30 CET https://t.co/qlj1vVjq9Kpic.twitter.com/5cS2JHxGfa
— EP President (@EP_President) November 30, 2016
I congratulated the Prime Minister for his very large victory in [the] elections. I think this is an exceptional result. I also wished him congratulations on the electoral success. It was [hosted] wonderfully so congratulations," said Schulz at a joint press conference after the meeting.
Schulz assessed the meeting as "really meaningful and interesting”.
The October Parliamentary Election in Georgia was one of the main topics in focus of today's meeting.
We had an observation mission representing the European Parliament [in Georgia for the elections] who were also very satisfied with the organisation of the electoral process in [Georgia]," said the European Parliament President.
Georgia’s visa liberalisation process was also "intensively discussed”, Schulz added.
We went into details of the ongoing negotiations between the Council of Ministers and European Parliament. I expressed to the Prime Minister that I’m still optimistic to find, in the coming days, a solution between the Council and European Parliament […] on what we call the suspension mechanism,” he said.
Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili (L) and European Parliament's President Martin Schulz. Photo by the PM's press office.
The pair also spoke about Georgia’s reform of the judiciary and its ongoing fight against corruption. The regional situation in Georgia in relation to its neighbours was also on the agenda of the meeting.
"I want to underline once more that I gave the Georgian Prime Minister the guarantee that the European Parliament [supports] the territorial integrity of Georgia,” said Schulz referring to Russia's occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territory.
And you, as a country, can count on the unconditional support of the European Parliament in frame of these territorial questions.”
Great to meet @MartinSchulz in the house of democracy that is the @Europarl_EN;his great work has been an example for #Georgia@EP_Presidenthttps://t.co/AeQ7UDs4fW
— Giorgi Kvirikashvili (@KvirikashviliGi) November 30, 2016
Meanwhile Kvirikashvili assessed today’s meeting as "very sincere” with "open discussion” and he thanked Schulz for supporting Georgia’s "ambitious” European integration agenda.
[European integration] is the highest priority of the Georgian Government,” Kvirikashvili said.
He stressed the importance of Georgia's visa liberalisation process and said: "A major part of the people of Georgia look forward to the visa waiver as an event that will lead to the greatest transformation and motivation.”
Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has explained why it could be very bad to postpone a visa waiver to the European Union (EU) for Georgian citizens when he spoke at the European Parliament yesterday.
Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili is set to leave for Belgium today to participate in the third session of the European Union-Georgia Association Council. The event was scheduled to take place on Friday, December 2.
Georgia is making headway in the implementing of its Association Agenda, with a number of reforms, strengthening democracy and the rule of law as well as the economy, already being implemented says the European Commission.
European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn believes the European Parliament and Council of Europe will agree on a visa waiver suspension mechanism before Christmas.
European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos sat down with Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili yesterday in Brussels, Belgium and discussed migration and Georgia’s visa liberalisation issues.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has today met a high official from the European Union (EU) to discuss the role of the European Parliament in Georgia's visa-free travel process.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn in Brussels today and recognised Georgia's continuing success as a regional leader in terms of implementing democratic reforms.
President of the Council of Europe (CoE) Donald Tusk is wholeheartedly supporting Georgia as it moves through the final stages of visa liberalisation with the European Union (EU) and says the country should soon be offered a visa waiver.
Today PM Kvirikashvili met EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. He confirmed the Georgian delegation’s first official visit to Brussels since the October elections confirmed Georgia's strong strategic partnership with the EU.
The European Union (EU) and Georgia held the third Association Council meeting in today; the first such meeting since the Georgia-EU Association Agreement came into full play earlier this year.
Georgia’s State Audit Agency released data showing how much was donated to various political parties and independent majoritarian candidates before the 2016 Parliamentary Elections, and how much these political subjects spent during the pre-election period.