Irish Foreign Minister: Georgia needs “help and support and solidarity”
Coveney argued the decision was actually seen as “opening the door” to Georgia by clarifying what reforms were expected from the country in order to be eligible for the candidate status.Photo: Middle East Monitor.
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Ireland is in favour of European enlargement, including for aspirations of European Union membership of Georgia, which needs “help and support and solidarity”, Simon Coveney, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday.
Coveney made the remark to Senator Gary Gannon during hearings held within the Irish Parliament’s Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.
The Foreign Minister said Georgia was a “relatively small country but in a very strategic part of Europe”, adding the decision of the European Council to not grant Georgia the EU membership status outright was not seen within the bloc as “closing the door” for the country.
Coveney argued the decision was actually seen as “opening the door” to Georgia by clarifying what reforms were expected from the country in order to be eligible for the candidate status.
“The accession process is difficult and sometimes prolonged but I hope at least following the decision of the last EU Council meeting there will at least be clarity in terms of what they need to do to take next steps”, Coveney pointed out.
He added he could understand the frustration caused by the Council’s decision - announced simultaneously as Moldova and Ukraine were granted the membership candidate status - but reassured Georgian citizens that Ireland was “in favour of enlargement”.
The official also highlighted Ireland wanted to “see peace” in countries aspiring to join the EU, noting Georgia was “clearly one of those countries”.
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.
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.
Georgia has received “guaranteed promise” to become EU member
By having been granted the "European perspective" by European Union bodies, Georgia has received "a guaranteed promise" that it will "definitely become" a member of the EU, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said on Friday.
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.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday held a farewell meeting with Carl Hartzell, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, with the officials discussing the existing cooperation between Georgia and the bloc in various fields before the latter’s end of term in the country.