Parliament EU Integration Committee Chair, German officials discuss Georgia’s EU integration process
Botchorishvili thanked the German officials for their country’s “unwavering” support for Georgia's democratic development and integration with the European Union. Photo: Parliament's Press Office.
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Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee and Levan Karumidze, the First Deputy Chair of the body, on Thursday discussed the country’s bid for EU membership and progress in European integration with German officials in Berlin.
From the German side the meeting involved Edgar Lensky, the Head of the European Policy and External Relations Group in the Federal Chancellery of Germany, Matthias Lutenberg, the German Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia, and Laura Ahrens, the Head of the EU Department for External Relations in the German Federal Foreign Office.
The sides also discussed security challenges in the Black Sea region and Russia's continuing occupation of Georgia, the Georgian Parliament’s press office said.
In the principal topic of the discussion, the Georgian officials focused on the successful implementation of most of the reforms envisaged by Georgia within the Association Agreement, signed with the EU in 2014, noting the country would “continue to be even closer” to EU standards.
Happy to meet Chair of ???????? EU Integration Committee MP Maka Botchorishvili and colleagues. Good exchange on GEO European aspirations, reforms and challenges in the face of ????????|s war in ????????. pic.twitter.com/WdhD5DhqFl
— Matthias Lüttenberg (@GERonOstpolitik) May 19, 2022
Botchorishvili thanked the German officials for their country’s “unwavering” support for Georgia's democratic development and integration with the European Union.
The German officials gave a “positive assessment” of Georgia's steps towards EU integration and the timely completion of the EU assessment questionnaire, handed by the Georgian Government to the European Commission this month, and reaffirmed their support for Georgia’s European aspirations.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the Government would make “every effort” to receive the status of an European Union candidate country, pointing out the “final political decision” on the matter was for the EU to make.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, said during her visit to Germany on Thursday that German officials believed Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova faced the “same” prospects in their formal applications for joining the European Union, and said the three states should be granted integration opportunities simultaneously.
The significance of Georgia’s European Union membership application and future measures in the process were in focus of a meeting between Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, on Wednesday.
The European Commission this month formally handed over the European Union membership questionnaire to the Government of Georgia, based on which the Commission’s assessment will be prepared for granting the country the status of a candidate state. As a milestone on its path to integration, Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova, is taking the first real step to membership.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday called on the “radical opposition” in the country to “stop campaigning against” Georgia being granted the European Union candidate status.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, on Tuesday accused opposition MPs of “feeding” the groups lobbying within the European Union against Georgia being granted a member status with their “negative statements”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the European Union had "no reason to reject" Georgia's application for membership, "especially" if it granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, on Tuesday said Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova “deserved” to become members of the European Union.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, on Tuesday discussed the country’s bid for EU membership with members of the Dutch Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee as part of her working visit to the Netherlands.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Tuesday highlighted “successful reforms” implemented under the European Union-Georgia Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, at the EU-Georgia Business Forum in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
Georgia’s European Union integration, the supportive resolutions adopted by the Irish Senate, and relations between two states were discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Lasha Darsalia, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and Joe McHugh, the Chair of the Irish Parliament's European Union Affairs Committee.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee in the Georgian Parliament, discussed her country’s European prospects, further strengthening of cooperation with Sweden and goals of the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU in meetings during her visit to the country this week.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee in the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday said a part of domestic opposition parties was using developments related to the country’s European Union membership candidate status as a “tool for their own political struggle and nothing more”.