Ruling party head: EU has "no reason to reject" Georgia's membership bid

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.

Kobakhidze noted Georgia had achieved "all tangible results” in terms of EU integration under the current Government.

The radical [domestic] opposition continues to claim publicly that Georgia does not deserve the status of a candidate for European Union membership. […] Their goal and calculation is simple: at the end of June, Georgia, unlike Ukraine and Moldova, should not be granted European Union candidate status, which, according to their plan, will lead to a public unrest, a coup d’état by the United National Movement [opposition party] and its satellites, and Georgia's involvement in the war [in Ukraine],” the GD official said. 

Kobakhidze pointed out Georgia was ahead of both Ukraine and Moldova in "all relevant parameters" in terms of EU integration.

[T]he European Union has no reason to reject Georgia as a candidate, especially if it grants a candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. We would like to remind you that Georgia has achieved all tangible results in terms of EU integration under our Government. It was under the rule of Georgian Dream that we signed the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, and adopted visa-free travel,” Kobakhidze noted.