Georgian PM “optimistic” about EU membership bid outcome despite “insulting” EP resolution on media freedom in Georgia
In comments on the membership bid, the Georgian official once again stressed the country was ahead of Ukraine, Moldova and the Eastern Partnership countries in “all parameters” for European integration, including in the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU, which he said had already been fulfilled by 45 percent. Photo: Government Administration/Facebook
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Saturday said he remained “optimistic” that a “sensible decision” would be made by the European Commission on the country’s European Union membership bid, which he said would be in the “best interest of both sides”.
Garibashvili noted he had publicly stated Georgia was “only asking for a merit-based decision” and “nothing “undeserved” during his visits to Brussels, Davos and Bratislava.
The head of the Government also decried the “insulting” and “irrational” European Parliament resolution, adopted on Thursday, which urged the Georgian authorities to “refrain from interfering in media freedom or pursuing politically motivated judicial cases against media owners or representatives”. Garibashvil said the resolution was “saturated with lies and inaccurate information”, and added it would “not play a decisive role” in the question of granting Georgia the EU membership status.
The PM also criticised the “attitude shown” by the 300 MEPs who voted for the motion, which he called “irresponsible and offensive to the Georgian people” on the backdrop of the support for full EU membership by 80 percent of the citizens of the country.
I will wait for June 23-24 [the deadline for the membership bid response], and if the decision of the European Commission is unfair and just as insulting [as the resolution was] for our country and people, I will shed light on the truth and tell our people everything”, Garibashvili said.
In comments on the membership bid, the Georgian official once again stressed the country was ahead of Ukraine, Moldova and the Eastern Partnership countries in “all parameters” for European integration, including in the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU, which he said had already been fulfilled by 45 percent.
The PM stressed the candidate status was “certainly important, but symbolic”, while the Association Agreement signed in 2014 and the visa-free travel and free trade deal approved in 2017 with the EU were “the main documents”. He claimed the ruling Georgian Dream party, led by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, had signed “all the important strategic documents” and taken “all the effective steps” that had “brought Georgia closer to Europe in a tangible way”.
Garibashvili said his Government had also implemented reforms and “strengthened democratic institutions” during the integration process, making Georgia “one of the best reformers” in a wider region. The PM also emphasised his team would “continue all reforms” in the country, and stressed the significance of maintaining “peace and stability” in Georgia.
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.
The Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said if the European Union did not grant membership candidate status to the Associated Trio countries of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, “only Russia will be happy” with the outcome.
Granting Georgia the status of a European Union membership candidate would give the country “additional motivation” and represent a “recognition of progress” it has achieved, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Friday in a discussion held at the Global Security Forum in Bratislava.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday said that the Georgian authorities had “optimistic expectations” about the country’s European Union membership bid.
Edgars Rinkevics, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, on Sunday said his country supported granting Georgia a Membership Action Plan for joining NATO.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, on Monday said granting Georgia the European Union membership candidate status would be a “good motivation” to pursue “necessary reforms”.
Gunther Krichbaum, an MP from the Christian Democratic Union in the Bundestag, on Monday said it was “in Germany’s interest” to “open a path” to the European Union for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the country would not deviate from the path of European integration regardless of the decision of the European Commission on Georgia’s European Union membership candidate bid.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said the resolution on violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Georgia, adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday, had been initiated by the European People's Party, and called the United National Movement domestic opposition party the EPP’s “main ally”.
The Georgian Government has “proved” its loyalty to the European Union and “honestly fulfilled the order of country’s citizens” by concluding the 2014 Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU, reaching the 2017 deal on visa-free travel with the Union, and submitting the ongoing formal bid for EU membership, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Monday.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday appealed to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, to take into account the “will of Georgian people” and the “road taken by the country” in the upcoming decision over granting European Union membership candidate status to Georgia.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday announced the departure of three MPs from both the party and the parliament following their disagreement over public relations strategy with the rest of the faction.
Sozar Subari, Mikheil Kavelashvili and Dimitri Khundadze, the three MPs who left the ranks of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Tuesday, issued a joint statement earlier today saying they had decided to set aside party affiliation in a bid to inform the public about behind-the-scenes dealings of the domestic opposition that they claimed were aimed at causing “unrest and war” in the country.