FM Zalkaliani: EU membership long and time-consuming process
The top Georgian diplomat indicated the country needed to continue to converge with the EU policy in various areas. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
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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.
Georgia officially applied for membership on March 3, with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signing the country’s membership application.
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.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani commented on Sunday on Georgia’s European Union membership prospects, stressing the country must do its best and use the opportunity to receive EU candidate status.
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.
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 process of Georgia’s European Union accession is “no less important” than membership in the Union, Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, told reporters on Tuesday.
The message to the aggressor Putin must be clear that Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are future members of the European Union, Member of the European Parliament Petras Austrevicius told the Georgian Public Broadcaster on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili welcomed the EU Council’s decision to ask the European Commission to examine applications for Union membership submitted by Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine on Twitter, stating “This new chapter in our relations motivates us to accelerate our reform agenda”.
There is practically no alternative for the European Union other than issuing a “clear and strong message” that it must open the door to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, Ryszard Czarnecki, member of the European Conservative and Reform Group in the European Parliament, said on Tuesday.
The official application submitted by Georgia for European Union membership, and the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine, were discussed by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo in a phone call on Tuesday.
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova are "belong to the European family" and "share our European values", David Mcallister, a Member of the European Parliament, told the Georgian Public Broadcaster on Wednesday.
The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations on Thursday unveiled the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the main bill of the US budget for Fiscal Year 2022, with the Georgian Foreign Ministry saying the bill contains the "most important wording" in support of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia.
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova deserve “European family membership” to an equal degree, Bogdan Aurescu, Romania's Foreign Minister, said before a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
The Moldovan Government remains “in touch” with “our friends and colleagues” in Georgia and Ukraine as the three states proceed on their recent bids to join the European Union, Nicu Popescu, Moldova's Foreign Minister, said before a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.