PM co-chairing European summit discussion “important signal” of Georgia being “integral part of European family” - FM
Darchiashvili made the remark while noting Irakli Garibashvili had been invited together with his Estonian counterpart to co-chair the discussion at the summit in Prague, noting Georgia has a “special importance in the common family”. Photo: MFA of Georgia
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The Georgian prime minister’s co-chairing of a discussion on peace and security in Europe at the inaugural summit of the European Political Community is a “very important signal” that the country is an “integral part of the European family”, foreign minister Ilia Darchiashvili said on Thursday.
Darchiashvili made the remark while noting Irakli Garibashvili had been invited together with his Estonian counterpart to co-chair the discussion at the summit in Prague, noting Georgia has a “special importance in the common family”.
I think it is a very important signal that Georgia is an integral part of the European family, that Georgia has a special importance in this common family”, Darchiashvili said.
The top Georgian diplomat also noted the meeting with the participation of the Georgian PM had turned out to be “very interesting” in focusing on challenges facing Europe.
Summit organisers selected Garibashvili and his Estonian counterpart Kaja Kallas to co-chair the discussion featuring leaders of EU member states and reviewing the current geopolitical situation and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, as well as challenges threatening global security.
The process of implementation of the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union for granting Georgia the membership candidate status was discussed on Thursday by the Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday attended the opening event of the first plenary session of the European Political Community in Prague.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday co-chaired a “high-level” thematic discussion in a roundtable format on the peaceful and secure future of the European Union, with his Estonian counterpart Kaja Kallas, within the framework of the first session of the inaugural summit of the European Political Community in Prague.
Georgian foreign minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Thursday said the inaugural summit of the European political community, set to be hosted in Prague between Thursday and Friday, would focus on the “challenges that threaten the global security architecture” and on the question of how to continue “building the European family”.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, on Thursday said the European Union wanted Georgia to “advance and succeed” on its EU path, as the country is working to meet the bloc’s 12-point conditions for receiving the membership candidate status.
Maka Botchorishvili, the chair of the Georgian parliament’s European Union integration committee, on Friday said the European Political Community format was a “new and important” initiative.
Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi and the secretary general of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the government was “ready to implement all reforms” and take “appropriate steps” for the country to become a “full-fledged” member state of Europe.
The 2022 national security strategy of the United States outlines the country will support “European aspirations” of Georgia and Moldova and their commitment to “important institutional reforms”.
The European Union has recognised Georgia's European perspective, and it is up to candidate countries to reform their economies and their institutions and “advance towards our Union”, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Wednesday.