Pawel Herczynski, the European Union ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said he hoped the implementation of the bloc’s conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status would be carried out in a “very inclusive and transparent manner” and with the participation of “all stakeholders” including the domestic opposition.
Herczynski said the opposition parties should participate “very constructively” in the common effort of fulfilling the priorities set out by the EU.
I know that the Georgian side has set very tight deadlines for itself. [...] We are following this process very closely and we hope that the process will be carried out in a very inclusive and transparent manner with the participation of all stakeholders, including the opposition parties, which should participate very constructively in this common effort”, he noted.
The official also added that it was still too early to assess the process of the implementation.
The assessment process will take place next year. Initially, the European Commission will assess it within the so-called enlargement package and then it will be revisited by European leaders towards the end of next year. After that, a decision will be made on the future steps regarding Georgia’s European integration path”, Herczynski continued.
“As the European Union, we are trying to help Georgia in its judicial reforms. Justice reform is one of the 12 recommendations. So we are watching the developments very closely. It is extremely important that the judicial system in Georgia is very professional and independent. This has always been the position of the EU”, he concluded.
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 are addressed by the Georgian government.