Ruling party MP: New political situation must be used not only by Georgia, but also by EU

The new political situation should be used not only by Georgia, but also by the European Union, Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, said on Wednesday in response to the decision by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party to apply for the country’s EU membership immediately.

Kadagishvili was speaking about the developments since the start of the armed conflict in Ukraine last week, and said both Georgia and the EU should use the newly arisen political circumstances “to provide a new opportunity, a new incentive and a plan of action to those states that have long aspired to join the EU.”

The Georgian Dream MP also said “Georgia is the most successful country in terms of implementing reforms within the Associated Trio” - a reference to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine from the EU’s Eastern Partnership states - adding the country’s legislative framework was “highly” compatible both with the EU and NATO.

Kadagishvili pointed out a country receiving the status of a candidate for EU membership would not mean joining the Union in a short period of time, and cited the example of Lithuania, which became a member 10 years after receiving the candidate status.

On Wednesday, GD party Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said the government was already preparing an application for obtaining EU candidate status.

The development followed the preparation of a draft resolution on the country’s EU membership by the Committee on European Integration of the Georgian Parliament on Tuesday.

The resolution called on EU member states and institutions to take all necessary steps to accelerate Georgia's accession to the Union.

On Wednesday, Georgia’s Imedi channel released its interview with Heidi Hautala, a Member of the European Parliament from Finland, who said “Ukraine and Georgia deserve European prospects”.