EU membership questionnaire will be made public, Gov’t decides

Georgia’s European Union membership application questionnaire will be made public, a Government Commission meeting chaired by the Prime Minister decided on Friday.

Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili revealed the decision following the meeting, adding it would be ensured that the mentioned document becomes available to all interested parties “as soon as possible.”

We know that there is a very high public interest. The meeting of the Government Commission chaired by the Prime Minister of Georgia decided to make the European Union membership application questionnaire public. We will ensure that this document becomes available to all interested parties as soon as possible,” the top Georgian diplomat said.

Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, handed over the European Union membership questionnaire to the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday.

The questionnaire contains 369 questions, significantly less than ones received by other EU partners. Previously, forms including about 2,000-5,000 questions were received by countries aspiring to join the Union.

After the Georgian authorities respond to the questionnaire, the European Commission will prepare its report and forward it to the European Council. Georgia has 1.5 months to complete the questionnaire.