Georgia needs “national consensus” for EU membership candidate status - EU commissioner
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, on Tuesday called on Georgian stakeholders to work together for their country’s EU candidacy. Photo: Oliver Varhelyi’s twitter page
Tweet 
Share
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, on Tuesday said Georgia required “national consensus” to meet the 12-point conditions set by the bloc for granting the country the membership candidate status.
Speaking along with Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi, the EU official said the European Council’s June decision to grant Georgia a European perspective had been a “unique opportunity”, adding it would be “regrettable” if the country missed the chance to gain the candidate status.
Pointing to the “crucial role” of the Georgian parliament in adoption of the laws recommended by the EU, Varhelyi said he had plans to stress the significance of the involvement of MPs in the work with all lawmakers in the country.
He also said he hoped he would return to Brussels with “good news” after meetings in the Georgian parliament later today, and noted “what is irreversible is fundamental agreements on targets and tasks which lead to the EU”.
Oliver Varhelyi, the EU commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, on Tuesday recognised the “active work” of the Georgian government on fulfilling the conditions outlined by the European Union for granting the country the membership candidate status.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said his government was “well aware” of the importance of the country’s “European future” and was recognising the “responsibility and spirit” of the realisation in its work on the implementation of the conditions or receiving the European Union membership candidate status.
Georgia is supporting Ukraine, the country’s sovereignty and independence “as much as possible” and “at all levels”, prime minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Tuesday in a press conference in Tbilisi with Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement.
The European Union accession process of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova should be accompanied by “unwavering support” from the bloc’s institutions, Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili told Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, in a face-to-face meeting in Tbilisi on Tuesday.
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, on Tuesday told a press briefing in Tbilisi there were “obvious” signs the Georgian economy was developing.
Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian parliament’s vice speaker, on Wednesday said the domestic opposition had attempted to portray the conditions set by the European Union for granting the country the membership candidate status as “something very unusual and negative”, which he claimed stemmed from its efforts to act “against the country’s European integration”.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union’s ambassador to Georgia on Thursday said the EU commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, during his official visit to the country, had had a “very clear” message to everyone in regard to the need for national consensus for implementing the conditions outlined by the EU for granting Georgia the membership candidate status.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday called on domestic opposition groups and lawmakers to end “destructive actions and sabotage” against “national interests” and join the work for obtaining the European Union membership candidate status for the country.