FM Zalkaliani: EU membership long and time-consuming process

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.

Today, as never before, we need to consolidate the society and make a concerted effort to achieve this ultimate success, Zalkaliani said in an interview with Imedi TV channel.

The top Georgian diplomat indicated the country needed to continue to converge with the EU policy in various areas.

All of us must continue to accomplish our tasks together. First of all, this concerns the Association Agreement, which is the main, basic guide for the [required] reforms. It should also be noted that in this regard we are one of the leaders among the associated member states. About 40 percent of the Association Agreement has been completed, the Minister pointed out.

On Monday, ambassadors of EU member states agreed to invite the EU Commission to present the opinion on applications by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. 

• Ambassadors of EU member states agree to invite EU Commission to present opinion on Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova

Georgia officially applied for membership on March 3, with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signing the country’s membership application.

• PM Garibashvili signs Georgia’s application for EU membership on “historic day”