Parliament EU Integration Committee Chair vows Gov’t will pursue reforms to advance integration

Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, on Monday said the Government would pursue the path of reforms that would “advance the country” on the European integration path and bring it closer to the ultimate goal of becoming an EU member. 

The Parliament official highlighted the “progress” the country had made since the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014. 

It is these reforms that have made Georgia an attractive country in many ways, despite the security challenges facing the country. [...] It is important that Georgia is also part of the EU enlargement policy. We will pursue the path of reforms that will advance Georgia on the European integration path and bring us closer to the ultimate goal [of becoming a EU member]”, Botchorishvili said at a sitting of the Interparliamentary Committee in the European Parliament.

She also noted it was “frustrating” that the European Parliament's recent assessments of Georgia - in a resolution on violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in the country - were based on a “misinterpretation” of the facts or were completely “unfounded”, as Georgia “operates in a very difficult geopolitical environment.”

Further decisions of the European Union will help us unite the nation around common European goals, as this is what 85 percent of the Georgian citizens want”, she concluded in her comments.