European Council grants candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, recognises Georgia’s “European perspective”
The European Commission last week recommended the European Council to grant Georgia “European perspective” before assessing how the country meets a number of conditions for receiving the EU membership candidate status. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, on Thursday said the body had granted the European Union membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, and was ready to grant the same status to Georgia once the outstanding priorities outlined by the European Commission were addressed by the Georgian Government.
Michel said the body was recognising the “European perspective” of the country, and congratulated Georgia in his tweet on the “historic moment”.
The #EUCO decided to recognize the European perspective of Georgia and is ready to grant candidate status once the outstanding priorities are addressed.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) June 23, 2022
Congratulations to the Georgian people.
A historic moment in EU-Georgia relations: Georgia's future lies within the EU. ????????????????
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, also addressed the decision in her tweet and said the decision “strengthened the EU”.
This decision strengthens us all.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 23, 2022
It strengthens Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, in the face of Russian imperialism.
And it strengthens the EU.
Because it shows once again to the world that we are united and strong in the face of external threats.
In comments from the Georgian side, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili “sincerely” congratulated Ukraine and Moldova with being granted the status, and expressed his Government’s gratitude in receiving the “European perspective”.
By being granted a European perspective ????????entered a new, important phase on the???????? integration path. We're grateful to @EUCouncil for this decision &believe, through relentless efforts we will regain our deserved place in the ????????family. Sincere congratulations to our ????????&???????? friends!
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) June 23, 2022
The European Commission last week recommended the European Council to grant Georgia “European perspective” before assessing how the country meets a number of conditions for receiving the EU membership candidate status.
Ukrainians, Moldovans and Georgians deserve to live in “free, democratic and prosperous” countries that are “proud and committed members” of the European family, a resolution approved by the European Parliament said on Thursday.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday hailed the “historic” decision of the European Commission to recommend the European Council to grant Georgia a European perspective, in an address to the Georgian Parliament.
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.
Javier Colomina, the NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, on Friday congratulated Georgia with being granted the perspective of accession to the European Union.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday expressed the willingness of his Government for a “constructive” dialogue involving domestic political forces in a bid to end polarisation.
The Georgian Government is "mobilised to meet all conditions" set by the European Union for granting member candidate status to Georgia in a timely manner, in order to obtain the status on time, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at a briefing at the Government Administration on Friday.
The European Commision will present a report on the priorities in the enlargement package in 2023 to give the Georgian political system “sufficient time” to “thoroughly work” on the priorities for the European Union membership candidate status, Michael Rupp, a representative of the European Commission, said on Wednesday.
MEP Viola von Cramon on Friday said she disapproved of the plans of a part of the Georgian opposition to create parallel groups and boycott a working format proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party for the country to fulfil the European Union's 12-point conditions and obtain the membership candidate status in December.
Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday discussed the implementation of the European Union’s 12-point conditions for the country’s membership candidate status and bilateral parliamentary cooperation in a Tbilisi meeting with members of the EU-Georgia parliamentary association committee.
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, as well as the Western Balkans countries, are members of the European family, António Costa, the prime minister of Portugal said on Saturday at the international congress of the Party of European Socialists in Berlin, in which the Georgian delegation is participating.
The European Council on Monday published Conclusions on European Union priorities for cooperation with the Council of Europe 2023-2024, with the document noting the future of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and their citizens "lies within the EU”.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his deputies on Friday briefed the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on efforts planned throughout 2023 to facilitate Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration process.
French and German ambassadors to Georgia, Sheraz Gasri and Peter Fischer, on Friday said the European Union had “opened its arms” to Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova in last year’s decisions on the Associated Trio countries’ aspirations for joining the bloc, in a joint statement released on the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Friday said the country’s people would not understand “another refusal” from the European Union to grant Georgia its membership candidate status later this year.
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.
The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council on Monday confirmed Georgia had made “significant progress” in “many key reforms” carried out in the country’s efforts for integration into the bloc, and highlighted the roles of rule of law, human rights, media, civil society and independent state institutions as “important elements” for each country aspiring to join the bloc.
Georgian ambassadors in European Union member states, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and officials from the country’s foreign office on Wednesday gathered in Berlin to discuss coordination and efforts for Georgia’s EU membership candidate status.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday told the roundtable discussion within the framework of the ongoing Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe joining the European Union was his Government's “ultimate goal”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday claimed all 12 conditions outlined by the European Council last year for granting the European Union membership candidate status to Georgia would be fulfilled by the end of June.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Thursday said Tbilisi had done “everything” to obtain the European Union membership candidate status and the country “deserved” it.
David Matikashvili, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the country “deserves” the European Union membership candidate status both for its citizens’ “historic choice” of European integration and the progress in the process over the years.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday accused the country’s “ill wishers both inside and outside” of “twisting” his comment at the Global Security Forum last week, where he named Kyiv’s “will and determination” to join NATO as “one of the reasons” that led to Russia’s invasion of the country last year.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Thursday said comments by Marina Kaljurand, a member of the European Parliament, who said Georgia “lags behind” Ukraine and Moldova on its European integration path, was “solely her view”, and said the Government had heard “nothing but good [assessments] from our European colleagues” on the matter.
If the European Union “unfairly rejects” Georgia’s application for receiving the bloc’s membership candidate status for the second year running, the decision will lead to “disappointment and scepticism” about the bloc in the domestic public, Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Monday.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said the country’s progress to meet the 12-point conditions outlined by the bloc last year for granting Tbilisi its membership candidate status, and improving Georgia’s perceptions in EU institutions and its member states, were a “common task” for the country’s authorities and the bloc.
The European Union and Georgia share the “common vision” of a “peaceful and prosperous” South Caucasus region, with the country remaining “one of the closest and most important partners” of the bloc in the region, Pawel Herczynski, the EU Ambassador to Georgia, said on Thursday.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Integration Committee, on Tuesday urged the domestic opposition and civil society organisations to “abandon destructive actions” and “stand by the Government” to ensure the European Union membership candidate status for the country later this year.
Rati Ionatamishvili, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the European Union’s latest Human Rights and Democracy in the World report had confirmed Tbilisi “deserved” the bloc’s membership candidate status last year.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Wednesday said a positive decision on a European Union membership candidate status for Georgia could be the “only fair ruling” on the subject.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said consultations regarding the fulfilment of the European Union conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status later this year were ongoing.
Beka Davituliani, a member of the Parliamentary majority in the Georgian legislative body, on Monday said Europe needed to have a “stronghold like Georgia” in the South Caucasus region, while the country needed to receive the European Union membership candidate status and become a full member of the bloc.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Thursday said the European Union “should not repeat its mistake” of failing to grant Georgia its membership candidate status in 2022 and make a positive decision on the status in December, a move he claimed would reveal the bloc’s “attitude to the long struggle of the Georgian people” for the country to regain its place in the “European family”.
Gitanas Nausėda, the Lithuanian President, on Thursday said his Government was “strongly motivated” to “politically support” Georgia obtaining the European Union membership candidate status later this year.
Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday claimed the country would obtain the European Union membership candidate status in December with “100 percent guarantee” and “despite attempts of the radical wing” of the domestic opposition.
Lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party on Wednesday urged Khatuna Samnidze, the head of the Republican Party in the Parliament, to name domestic opposition representatives she accused on Tuesday of taking actions to “hamper” Tbilisi’s obtaining of the European Union membership candidate status in December.
Beka Davituliani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday claimed chances for Georgia’s obtaining of the European Union membership candidate status in December had been “substantially increased”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibnashvili on Monday hailed the ongoing visit of a delegation of European Union and member states for the Eastern Partnership Initiative, composed of 19 high-ranking officials, as a “strong support message” ahead of the European Commission’s upcoming report on Tbilisi’s meeting of the conditions for receiving the European Union membership candidate status.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday said he was confident the country would be granted the European Union membership candidate status this week in a “historic decision” by the European Council.