Parliament EU Integration Committee Chair vows Gov’t will pursue reforms to advance integration
The Parliament official highlighted the “progress” the country had made since the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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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.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday marked the 8th anniversary since the signing of Georgia’s Association Agreement with the European Union by saying that the country’s EU integration was “irreversible”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday marked the 8th anniversary since the signing of Georgia’s Association Agreement with the European Union, calling it “successful in unleashing the potential of Europeanisation" of Georgia.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday marked the 8th anniversary since the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union, calling it a “historic date” on Georgia’s European integration path and expressing his belief the country would receive the EU membership candidate status “very soon”.
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.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said it was “difficult to say" how long it would take for Georgia to receive the European Union membership candidate status, emphasising fulfilment of the conditions outlined by the EU for the outcome.
Georgian Ambassador to the United States David Zalkaliani on Tuesday received a copy of the European Council’s “historic” decision on granting the European perspective to Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova from Stavros Lambrinidis, the European Union Ambassador to the United States.
The ruling Georgian Dream party will set up a group tasked with monitoring political polarisation in the country, following the inclusion of the challenge of overcoming division on the domestic political field in the conditions outlined by the European Council for granting the country the European Union membership candidate status later this year.