Ruling party MP: EU accession process no less important than membership itself

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.

Kadagishvili was commenting on the country’s formal bid to join the EU, and stressed “[o]ne can not become a member of the EU if certain standards are not met”. The MP told local media successful membership would not be achieved in a short period of time, but it would be “very interesting”.

We will have to adapt many areas to the high standards of the EU. There will be substantive discussions on all reforms. This process will be aimed at developing the country, as these reforms should bring the country closer to the EU standards. Of course, there will be remarks and assessments. This is a very lively process, and we will try to be successful, the ruling party MP said.

Georgia's Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani also said on Monday gaining European Union membership would be a “long and time-consuming process”.

On Monday, ambassadors of EU member states agreed to invite the EU Commission to present the opinion on candidate status 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.