Borrell: Georgia will be granted “automatic” EU candidate status when criteria are met
Borrell stressed the Commission’s granting of “European perspective” to Georgia was a “step forward” and added citizens of the country should not look at the result “in a negative way” due to the body’s conditioning of the outright candidate status on reform criteria. Photo: Reuters
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Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Thursday said Georgia would be “automatically” granted the EU membership candidate status once the reform agenda criteria outlined by the European Commission are addressed.
Borrell stressed the Commission’s granting of “European perspective” to Georgia was a “step forward” and added citizens of the country should not look at the result “in a negative way” due to the body’s conditioning of the outright candidate status on reform criteria.
Now, they [Georgians] have a clear path. They have things to be done, the schedule, so this is an important step forward. Continue working on that, you are on the good track. When these criteria [priorities set by European Commission] are met, the candidate status will be granted automatically”, the EU official told reporters.
The European Commission on Friday recommended to the Council that Georgia should be given the perspective to become a member of the European Union. The body recommended that the country be granted the membership candidate status once the priority items on the reform agenda are addressed.
The Commission will monitor Georgia's progress to address these priorities and report on them by the end of 2022.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, said the body would recognise the “European perspective” of the Associated Trio countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on Thursday.
The Helsinki Commission, a United States Government agency monitoring security in Europe, on Wednesday urged the European Council to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said he was “convinced” the country would receive the European Union membership candidate status “in the near future”.
The United States supports the further integration of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia with their European neighbours, Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said in a briefing on Tuesday.
Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, the head of the Georgian mission to the European Union, on Wednesday said the European Commission’s granting of “European perspective” to Georgia was “one of the most significant” achievements of the country’s foreign policy.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday highlighted a “historic” day as the European Council granted the country the “European perspective” to become a member of the European Union.
The Georgian Government will continue to pursue an “ambitious” reform agenda together with the European Union to ensure the country’s eventual integration into the bloc, the Georgian foreign office said on Friday following the decision of the European Council to recognise the country’s European perspective for membership.
European Union Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell on Thursday said it was "very important for everyone in Georgia to realise” that the EU’s decision to “open the door” to Georgia with the European Council’s move to grant the country the European perspective was a “truly historic” moment.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday called for an enlargement of the European Union to eventually include Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Monday described Georgia as a “very important country” ahead of a meeting of the bloc’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg later today.