Georgia’ EU mission head: Relationship with EU and integration process enters new stage

Georgia's submission of an official application for European Union membership marks a new stage of the country's relationship with the EU and in the process of its integration into the Union, the Head of the Georgian mission to the EU, Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, said in an interview released by Imedi channel on Thursday.

The Georgian diplomat told the TV channel the relevant procedures for Georgia's accession to the European Union would now begin following the submission of the membership bid. 

“The European Commission will [now] report on Georgia's readiness to be granted candidate status. This step will be followed by specific negotiations around the chapters that must be met in order to join the Union. In this difficult period we witness a number of extraordinary decisions and we should not rule out non-standard decisions in this direction as well,” Makharoblishvili explained.

The Head of the Georgian EU mission on Thursday formally presented the country's official application to Philippe Léglise-Costa, France’s Permanent Representative to the EU.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed the EU membership bid on Thursday, announcing Georgia was closer to the Union “as never before.”