Ruling party sec gen pledges gov’t will take “appropriate steps” for Georgia to become “full-fledged” member of EU
In his remarks on the summit hosted in Prague for the European Political Community, Kaladze noted support for Georgia from its European partners was “important”. Photo: Tbilisi City Hall
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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.
In his remarks on the summit hosted in Prague for the European Political Community, Kaladze noted support for Georgia from its European partners was “important”.
We have expressed our full readiness to implement all necessary reforms on the European path. We are ready to implement all reforms, to take appropriate steps for Georgia to become a full-fledged member state of Europe”, the GD official said.
On June 24, the European Council granted the membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, and said it would be ready to grant the same status to Georgia once the outstanding priorities outlined by the European Commission would be addressed by the Georgian government.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Irakli Chikovani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the Georgian delegation at the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe this week would talk about the progress made by the country's authorities in implementing conditions for the European Union membership candidate status.
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”.
Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili on Monday said meeting the European Union’s 12-point conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status was a “challenge” for the country, adding Georgia was not competing with “anyone but itself” in the process.
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.