Georgia requesting “deserved” EU membership candidate status - PM
Garibashvili highlighted his Government’s agreement with the EU to include reforms that “must be continued” in the Association Agenda with the Union, noting Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili had also discussed the matter with the office of European Council President Charles Michel. Photo: Government's Administration.
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Georgia is requesting the European Union membership candidate status the country has “deserved” through its 30-year “struggle for democracy” and reforms implemented by the Government over the past nine years, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Monday.
Garibashvili highlighted his Government’s agreement with the EU to include reforms that “must be continued” in the Association Agenda with the Union, noting Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili had also discussed the matter with the office of European Council President Charles Michel, the Government’s Administration said.
The Government head also pointed out Georgia was “not asking for anything special and undeserved” with the expectation of the membership candidate status, adding if the European Commission’s decision on the country’s membership application turned out to be “unfair”, the Government would “explain to the people in detail the main reasons” behind it.
The PM also stressed the ruling party had “done everything” for the EU integration of the country, while also formally designating the Euro-Atlantic course as Georgia’s foreign policy priority in the country’s Constitution.
Garibashvili stressed the symbolic significance of the formal EU membership application, which he signed on March 3, as the “climax” of achievements of his Government on EU integration.
He claimed “nothing European” had been part of the “purely classical dictatorial, authoritarian” Government of the United National Movement in the country, which he accused of having been “based on the oppression, torture and murder of people”. The PM also stressed democratic reforms in the country would “certainly continue” under his team.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili welcomed the EU Council’s decision to ask the European Commission to examine applications for Union membership submitted by Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine on Twitter, stating “This new chapter in our relations motivates us to accelerate our reform agenda”.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili has signed the application for European Union membership on behalf of the country, noting the “historic day” in his address to citizens.
The Georgian delegation that held meetings with European partners at the Council of Europe this week received “positive attitude and recognition” of the country’s European prospects, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said on Saturday.
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.
The Senate of Ireland on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on the European Union and its institutions to grant Georgia the membership candidate status.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said a part of domestic opposition parties was “doing everything” to prevent the country from receiving the European Union membership candidate status by the end of this year and use the development for “sparking unrest” in the country.
Edmondo Cirielli, the Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, on Wednesday pledged his Government's support for Georgia’s European integration in a Tbilisi meeting with his Georgian counterpart Teimuraz Janjalia, the Georgian foreign office said.