Italian Ambassador: Georgia's EU membership bid should be evaluated on historical data

Enrico Valvo, the Italian Ambassador to Georgia, on Tuesday said the European Union membership bid of the country should be evaluated on “historical data,” in an address at a meeting of the Georgian Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Valvo was making the comment following recent EU membership applications by Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, and said European authorities should consider the three bids on their historical merit.

The Italian diplomat also addressed Georgian MPs by saying the EU “must prepare” for enlargement, as well as for the possibility of accession of new members.

The full implementation of the Association Agreement, signed by Georgia and the EU in 2014, will allow Georgia to move closer to the Union in all its economic, political and other integration matters, the Ambassador noted, adding more oversight by EU institutions would be needed in key areas, including the judicial reform and institution-building in the country.

Valvo also said the development of the areas would strengthen the oversight and balancing mechanism in Georgia, and stressed the importance of joint efforts of political parties in the country as part of the integration process.

"Political forces will play an important role. Moreover, efforts must be united in the face of common tasks to eliminate polarisation. The less polarisation there is, the more chances there are for success," Valvo said in his comments to the lawmakers.