“Crucial time” for EU to decide whether Europe stands with partners - PM

The Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said it was a “crucial time” for the European Union to decide whether Europe “stood with its partners” by granting Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova the member candidate status.

In a discussion held at the Global Security Forum in Bratislava, Garibashvili said over the past several years the Georgian Government had implemented “very ambitious” reforms in “all directions,” singling out the judiciary, media freedom, rule of law and democracy consolidation.

This is a crucial time, especially when we see the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine. This is a historic moment. Now it’s up to the European Union to decide whether Europe stands by its allies, its partners, like-minded countries,” the Georgian PM said.

The PM stressed Georgia had experienced a war with Russia in 2008 before Ukraine, adding citizens of the country had paid a “highest price” in the conflict, pointing out the country’s European integration path was the “choice of the Georgian people”.

We have done our homework. Now we wait for the decision of the European Union. This is a political decision, but a moral one as well. What kind of message are we sending to Russia? Georgia has been loyal to European values. We paid the highest price possible. We are pursuing our reforms,” the head of the Georgian Government noted.

Garibashvili also noted “tangible results” in the reforms undertaken for the integration, citing 45 percent of the 2014 Association Agreement with the EU as having been fulfilled. He called the progress “remarkable” and noted Georgia had been a “frontrunner” in the Eastern Partnership countries of the EU.