Ruling party head calls on “radical opposition” to “stop campaigning against” Georgia being granted EU candidate status
The ruling party official noted “only those who want to cause unrest” and “get the country involved in war” could oppose the process of the country gaining EU candidate status. Photo: 1tv.ge
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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.
Kobakhidze said Georgia’s status in being ahead of fellow membership applicants Moldova and Ukraine “in all parameters” relevant to the status was widely recognised in his comments criticising the political opposition.
We call on the radical opposition to stop campaigning against [Georgia] being granted the European Union candidate status. Everyone knows very well that Georgia is ahead of Ukraine and Moldova in all parameters. Consequently, only a political decision remains to be taken by the European Union,” the GD official said.
The ruling party official noted “only those who want to cause unrest” and “get the country involved in war” could oppose the process of the country gaining EU candidate status.
Statements from the Georgian Dream party have accused a part of the opposition in “deliberately harming the country's interests in the international arena” in parallel to the ongoing deliberation by the European Commission on Georgia’s membership bid.
On May 10, Georgia’s Prime Minister handed over the second completed part of the EU membership questionnaire, filled out by the country ahead of schedule, to Carl Hartzell, the Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia.
Based on the questionnaire, the European Commission will prepare an evaluation report on granting the candidate status to the country, with the relevant decision expected by the end of June.
The Georgian opposition think they are working against the Government, but in reality they are acting against the country itself, Nikoloz Samkharadze, the ruling Georgian Dream party MP who chairs the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Friday in an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee and Levan Karumidze, the First Deputy Chair of the body, on Friday discussed the country’s bid for EU membership and progress in European integration with German officials in Berlin.
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.
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.
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.
Citizens opposition party MP Aleko Elisashvili on Friday said there were “some disgraceful people” among the domestic opposition who may have campaigned with the country’s European partners against granting Georgia the European Union member candidate status.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday expressed his belief the European Union would make a “reasonable, wise and fair” decision on the membership candidate status of Georgia.