MEP Austrevicius: Message to aggressor Putin must be clear that Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova are our future members
Petras Austrevicius explained the discussions on EU membership of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova would require a certain amount of time, noting “it is important not to revise the decision.” Photo: 1tv.ge
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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.
When asked if he believed granting EU candidate status to the three Associated countries would be a positive political signal, the MEP said that the move would be “very important”, not only because “Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are Associated countries and are moving towards membership.”
The message to the aggressor Putin must be clear that Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are our future members, and he must take into account that he will not have a carte blanche in dealing with these countries. It's like telling a big angry man on the street “don't touch, it's my friend, if you attack, you'll have to deal with me.” That's why I think it's very important, MEP said.
Petras Austrevicius explained the discussions on EU membership of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova would require a certain amount of time, noting “it is important not to revise the decision.”
On Monday, ambassadors of EU member states agreed to invite the EU Commission to present the opinion on applications by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to join the Union.
Georgia officially applied for membership on March 3, with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signing the country’s membership application.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Clement Beaune, the French European Affairs Minister, said on Thursday that Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova would “probably” join the European Union “in a few years.”
Georgia belongs to the European family and the Government is ready to implement the reforms that will eventually end with European Union membership, Archil Talakvadze, the Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, said on Friday.