Georgian FM to discuss country’s EU integration progress, prospects for closer ties at EaP meeting
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili will feature in a ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership on Monday. Photo: Ilia Darchiashvili’s Twitter page
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Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday said he would discuss his country’s progress on its European Union integration path and prospects for further sectoral and economic cooperation with the EU at the bloc’s Eastern Partnership meeting in Brussels.
The Georgian official will discuss his Government’s ongoing work on fulfilling the bloc’s conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status, as he features in the ministerial meeting later on Monday.
Glad to be in Brussels to participate in the #EasternPartnership ministerial meeting, where I will speak about ????????'s progress on the EU-integration path, as well as our country's opportunities for sectoral and economic rapprochement with the ????????.
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) December 12, 2022
Held under the chairmanship of Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the event will bring together the bloc’s foreign ministers and their counterparts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, to discuss EU support for its partners, including Georgia, and security challenges sparked by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ahead of the meeting, the bloc announced €17 billion for the economic and investment plan for EaP countries, including €2.3 billion in estimated total investments for the Black Sea Strategic Submarine Electricity Cable that will connect Georgia with Romania and allow export of green energy to Europe.
While in Brussels, Darchiashvili will also meet with Borrell, Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy, and colleagues from EaP countries.
Launched in 2009, EaP aims to strengthen the political and economic relations between the EU, its member states and six Eastern European and South Caucasus “partner countries”, as well as support sustainable reform processes in countries of the initiative.
The interest in Georgia's port infrastructure has increased by 250 percent since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, mainly from Northern European and Chinese customers, Irakli Danelia, the Head of Business Development at Maersk Sealand in the Black Sea Region, told business media outlet bm.ge on Tuesday.
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy, on Sunday announced the bloc would allocate €17 billion for the economic and investment plan of its Eastern Partnership initiative, including €2.3 billion in estimated total investments for the Black Sea Strategic Submarine Electricity Cable.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili will feature in a ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership on Monday, with the event bringing together European Union foreign ministers and their counterparts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said Georgia’s location placed “high importance” on the country in its role as an alternative trade route for transportation of goods from Asia to Europe in the wake of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Monday expressed his hope that all of the conditions set by the European Union for granting Georgia the membership candidate status would be met to bring the country “closer” to the bloc, in remarks over the Eastern Partnership foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday stressed the importance of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership in the process of political and economic rapprochement of the partner countries with the bloc.
Efforts made by the Georgian Government on the path of European integration were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The European Union has confirmed its commitment to the Eastern Partnership and willingness to make it “more flexible and tailored” to the needs of partners, the European Council said on Monday following a meeting of foreign ministers of member states and EaP.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday highlighted the role of the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in "dealing with external threats in accordance with the interests of the country" throughout the past year, in comments summing up the foreign policy efforts of the Government in 2022.