Georgia’ EU mission head: Relationship with EU and integration process enters new stage
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. Photo: TV Imedi.
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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.”
The Head of the Georgian Mission to the European Union, Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, on Thursday formally presented the official application of the country for European Union membership to Philippe Léglise-Costa, France’s Permanent Representative to the EU.
"Slovenia supports EU membership for Georgia," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša wrote on Twitter on Thursday, as the Georgian government officially applied for European Union membership for the country.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili has signed the application for European Union membership on behalf of the country, noting the “historic day” in his address to citizens.
It is a historic day for Georgia – we are signing an Application for EU Membership on behalf of the country.
COREPER II agreed to invite the EU Commission to present an opinion on each of the applications for EU membership submitted by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, the French delegation to the European Council tweeted.
Gaining European Union membership is a long and time-consuming process, Georgia's Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said on Monday following the EU Council’s decision to ask the European Commission to examine the applications for the membership submitted by Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) MP who chairs the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Chairs of Foreign Relations Committees of the Parliaments of the European Union member states on Monday it was “crucial” the Union “demonstrates political will” and grants the country a candidate status.
The Georgian Government has already started taking steps for “individual dialogue" with European Union member states as part of the process of the country's EU membership bid, David Zalkaliani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday.
Georgia's accession to the European Union is a “civilisational choice” of the country’s citizens and is not simply a matter of the Government, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at a World Economic Forum panel in Davos on Wednesday.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday addressed citizens in countries of the Western Balkans as well as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia by telling them “you are part of our family, your future is in our Union, and our Union is not complete without you”.
The Georgian interior ministry on Friday said 868 Georgian citizens had been deported from several European Union member states over the past three months for violation of mandatory terms of stay in the countries.
The future of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia and of their citizens lies within the European Union, a document published on Tuesday by the Council of the EU said following a meeting of Government ministers involving the bloc’s member states.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Wednesday praised the recent report by the Council of the European Union that said Georgia’s future “lies with the EU” and commended the “important steps” being made by the country in its reform process.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday briefed Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, and heads of missions of European Union member states in the country over his Government’s efforts to ensure the bloc’s membership candidate status later this year.
A total of 1,070 Georgian citizens have been deported from several European Union member states over the past three months for violations of mandatory terms of stay in the countries, the Georgian Interior Ministry said on Thursday.