Parliament EU Integration Committee Chair: there are forces within EU that don’t support further enlargement

Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, on Tuesday said there were “forces among European Union member states” that were against a further enlargement of the bloc and therefore not in favour of Georgia’s membership prospects.

Botchorishvili said there was “no uniform position” within the Union that would make the prospects of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova joining the bloc “irreversible.”

There are forces among European Union member states that support further enlargement, and in this context they are lobbying for Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova in a loyal manner. At the same time, there are forces that do not support further enlargement and therefore are not in favour of our European prospects,” Botchorishvili noted.

Critical assessments [of Georgia] can become a good basis for their self-justification, if the desired decision is not taken by the European Union,” the Parliament official also said.

Botchorishvili also addressed opposition MPs and said they were “feeding” the EU groups lobbying against Georgia being granted a member status with their “negative statements”. 

Georgia deserves a European prospect because we, the vast majority of Georgian citizens, want to be part of a democratic world where no-one can threaten our statehood and the future of our children,” she concluded in comments to the lawmakers.