President Zourabichvili: meeting EU candidacy recommendations a “challenge, not race” for Georgia
“We have been and should remain in solidarity with each other, because [this] solidarity is a response to Russia’s actions”, president Zourabichvili said while in Moldova. Photo: Maia Sandu’s twitter page
Tweet 
Share
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.
Speaking at a press conference along with Moldovan president Maia Sandu în Chișinău, the Georgian official stressed it was “right'' that Ukraine and Moldova, “who are currently in a different situation” due to the conflict in the former, had been granted the status by the European Council in June.
Glad to welcome ????????President @Zourabichvili_S to Chisinau today as we commit to closer cooperation between ???????? and ???????? in the future but also to working together on the road of #EU integration. pic.twitter.com/FACLAp72UT
— Maia Sandu (@sandumaiamd) October 17, 2022
She acknowledged Georgia had also expected to receive the status in the decision, but added “this in no way means that we are competing with anyone. If there is any competition, we [Georgians] have it with ourselves [to meet the conditions]”.
The president stressed each country had to implement reforms and meet the recommendations which concerned them individually, and called for unity on the integration path both inside the countries and with allied states, adding the process would “determine our European future”.
We have been and should remain in solidarity with each other, because [this] solidarity is a response to Russia’s actions”, Zourabichvili said.
Since the Petra Summit last year, our two nations have moved forward on the path to European integration.
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) October 17, 2022
Moldova and Georgia both belong in Europe. Our cooperation on this road will make us stronger. @sandumaiamd ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/l4owh4qzTN
Speaking about Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the Georgian president stressed the conflict had revealed Russia’s “true image”.
She said while Georgia had gone through aggression and occupation by Russia over the years, European partners had maintained a belief that Russia could remain a “reliable partner”. The war in Ukraine had however changed their attitude with its revealing of “the true face of Russian aggression, Russia's imperial vision and behaviour”, she noted.
Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili on Monday welcomed her country’s “close partnership” during her first working visit to Moldova, the presidential administration said.
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 ruling Georgian Dream party on Friday presented its strategy for fulfilling the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Council for granting the country the European Union membership candidate status later this year.
Challenges facing Georgia and Moldova, the war in Ukraine and its impact on economic and social issues were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting between Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili and Moldovan prime minister Natalia Gavrilița.
The United States “strongly supports” the desire of Georgia and Moldova to join the European Union, Karen Donfried, the United States assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, said on Tuesday.
Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili will hold high-level meetings in her visit to France, the presidential administration said on Monday.
The European perspective of Georgia, current situation in the Black Sea region and war in Ukraine were discussed on Monday in a meeting between Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili and Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir on the sidelines of the World Forum for Democracy.
The importance of granting the EU membership candidate status to Georgia and strengthening cooperation between the country and the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe to support democratic reforms were discussed on Tuesday by the Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili and the president of the assembly Tiny Kox.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili congratulated the Georgian people on New Year, wishing them happiness, health, and success and to meet the new 2023 with “unity and solidarity”.
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.