EU Delegation Head expects European Commission to present opinion on candidate status to Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova next month

Carl Hartzel, the head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia, has said he expects the European Commission will present its opinion on granting the EU membership candidate status to the Associated Trio countries of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova next month.

Hartzel told Georgian media on Tuesday he was “sure” the Georgian Government would deliver the second completed part of the country’s membership questionnaire “soon”. On Monday, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili personally handed over the first completed part of the questionnaire to Hartzel and called the development a “paramount stage” in the EU integration process.

The EU Delegation official emphasised the assessment on the candidate status would be made based on the situation “on the ground”, noting the evaluation process from the  European Commission was related to Georgia's commitment to the fundamental values ​​of the European Union and the main economic criteria.

Hartzel welcomed the decision of the Georgian Government to publish the questionnaire, saying the EU left governments the right to decide whether to make completed questionnaires public. 

The Georgian Government and “all relevant state agencies” continue to work “intensively” to complete the second, sectoral part of the questionnaire, which includes 33 chapters and up to 2300 questions, the Government Administration has said. The Government wants to deliver the second part of the questionnaire to the EU ahead of the scheduled deadline of May 13.