GD head: Georgia to apply for EU membership immediately

The Government of Georgia is applying for the European Union membership, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said on Wednesday.

At the special briefing Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the Government of Georgia, led by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, was already preparing an application for EU candidate status.

Georgian Dream (GD) party chairman stressed that the application for EU membership backed by new reforms in 2024 would have had an advantage over applying hastily.

However, given a general political context and anew reality, following the consultations with the members of the party's political council and, first of all, with the Prime Minister, the Georgian Dream's political team made a political decision to apply for EU membership immediately, Irakli Kobakhidze said, adding that the application for EU candidate status will be officially submitted to the EU structures on behalf of the Georgian government tomorrow.

The ruling Georgian Dream party chairman called on the EU structures to consider the application on an urgent basis and to make a decision on granting Georgia the status of EU candidate.

The Committee on European Integration of the Georgian Parliament on Tuesday prepared a draft resolution on the country’s integration into the European Union, calling on EU member states and institutions to take all necessary steps to accelerate Georgia's accession to the Union.

Heidi Hautala, a Member of the European Parliament from Finland said “Ukraine and Georgia deserve European prospects” in an interview released by Georgia’s Imedi channel on Wednesday.