European Commission invited to submit opinions on EU membership applications of Moldova, Georgia

The Committee on European Integration of the Parliament of Georgia on Friday supported the draft resolution on the country’s accession to the European Union.

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.

Clement Beaune, the French European Affairs Minister, said on Thursday that Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova would “probably” join the European Union “in a few years.”

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.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with Diego Colas, the French Ambassador to Georgia, earlier today to discuss the country’s application for EU membership and recent developments in Ukraine.

Georgia and Moldova have received the same “green light” from the European Union concerning their membership applications as Ukraine, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Friday, following EU leaders’ decision to invite the European Commission to submit opinions on the applications.

Slovakia fully supports the Georgian people’s will to become members of our European family, Ivan Korčok, the Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, said on Saturday.

The Georgian Parliament will consider the draft resolution on Georgia's accelerated accession to the European Union this week.

Georgia is recognised as the “undisputed leader” among the countries of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership initiative, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, said on Monday.

The ongoing situation in Ukraine, European Union sanctions against Russia and Black Sea region security issues were discussed during a meeting between Nikoloz Samkharadze, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) MP who chairs the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and Hubert Knirsch, Germany’s Ambassador to Georgia on Monday.

The draft resolution on Georgia’s European Union integration will be approved by the country’s Parliament today, with the document at the top of the plenary session’s agenda.

The Georgian Parliament has approved the resolution on the country’s European Union integration during the plenary session on Tuesday.

A total of 111 MPs voted in favour of the resolution, with no votes against.

Now is the time to step up efforts to strengthen business and economic ties between Georgia and Europe, with Germany poised to “work hard” to move this process forward, German Ambassador to Georgia Hubert Knirsch said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili will host his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki in Batumi today.

Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, said on Saturday he would hand over the questionnaires for European Union membership to Georgia and Moldova on Monday.

The Georgian Government will receive the European Union membership questionnaire, the next step in its process of application to join the Union, today from Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.

Irakli Garibashvili, the Georgian Prime Minister, has noted an “important day” for the country with the Foreign Minister set to receive the questionnaire for European Union membership from the European Commissioner.

Georgia will provide comprehensive answers to the questionnaire for its European Union membership bid, Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament, said on Monday.

Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, handed over the European Union membership questionnaire to the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday.

The submission of the questionnaire for Georgia’s European Union membership bid is a “very important process” that will be completed in the “shortest possible time”, Lasha Khutsishvili, the Minister of Finance of Georgia, said on Monday.

Georgia will “spare no effort” to fill out the European Union membership questionnaire and proceed to the next stages of the application process, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said on Monday.

Georgia has made tangible progress toward European Union integration, Parliament Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze said on Monday as Georgian authorities received the questionnaire for the country’s EU membership.

The “ball is in Georgia's court” on the “big and difficult” job on the path of the country’s European Union membership process, Carl Hartzell, the EU Ambassador to Georgia, said at a press conference on the handover of the membership questionnaire to Georgian authorities on Monday.

The timeframe of the reform for the judiciary system of Georgia has been agreed, with both development of the package and its approval possible before the end of 2022, Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Monday.

The Georgian Government will ensure the European Union membership application questionnaire, handed to them by European authorities, is completed with a “highest involvement” of all institutions, Parliament Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze said on Thursday.

The reception of the European Union membership questionnaire by Georgian authorities marks an “important and historic” step on the country’s path to EU integration, Maka Botchorishvili, the Chairwoman of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, said on Tuesday.

Measures to be taken to complete the European Union membership questionnaire submitted to Georgian authorities by the European Commission on Monday were discussed at the 62nd session of the Governmental Commission on EU Integration on Friday.

The Government of Georgia has published the European Commission questionnaire for Georgia’s European Union membership on Friday, following a decision by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to make the document public.

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili held a meeting with various government representatives on Thursday to coordinate the process of completing Georgia’s European Union membership questionnaire.

Darchiashvili said the government organisations were eager to fill out the questionnaire “effectively and in a short time.”

Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, on Thursday said the lawmaking body welcomed the recently submitted formal European Union membership bids from Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The Georgian Government has completed the first part of the questionnaire for the country’s European Union membership bid and will submit it to the Head of European Union Delegation to Georgia Karl Hartzel on Monday, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Friday.

Kelly Degnan, the United States Ambassador to Georgia, on Saturday said the country’s European Union membership was a process that needed to involve the entire society.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili will personally hand over the first completed part of the country’s European Union membership questionnaire to Karl Hartzel, the Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia, on Monday.

The German Bundestag on Monday approved a resolution supporting the Associated Trio countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia "on their European path”, the German Embassy to Georgia said.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Monday marked the delivery of the first completed part of the country’s European Union membership questionnaire as a “big step”.

The Georgian Government will hand over the second completed part of the country’s European Union membership questionnaire to the European Commission by Tuesday, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said at a briefing on Friday.

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on Monday marked the delivery of the first completed part of the country’s European Union membership questionnaire as “the paramount stage” of its European integration.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday personally handed over the first completed part of the country’s European Union membership questionnaire to Carl Hartzell, the Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia.

The Government of Georgia has published the second part of the European Commission questionnaire for Georgia’s European Union membership on Friday, following a decision by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to make the document public.

The European Union is “working hard” to respond to the membership bids by the Associated Trio countries of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said on Monday before a meeting EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

The Citizens opposition party and their “colleagues'' are “ready to reaffirm” support on behalf of the political opposition for the country to receive European Union membership candidate status, Levan Ioseliani, the Vice Speaker of the Parliament, said at a plenary session at the legislative body on Tuesday.

Georgia's future is European and the country’s “place is in the European Union,” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili said on Friday at a plenary meeting of the Georgian Parliament.

Georgia’s bid for European Union membership is not a “whim of the Government” or a “cynical exploitation” of a growing European sympathy toward Ukraine amid the Russian invasion of the country, Nikoloz Samkaharadze, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament and Deputy Chair Giorgi Khelashvili said on Thursday.

The Georgian Government will “present its priorities” at this year’s Global Security Forum in Bratislava with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili being a keynote speaker for the European Union Neighbourhood Panel at the event, Revaz Beshidze, Georgia’s Ambassador to Slovakia, said on Thursday.

Leaders of political groups of the European Parliament on Thursday appealed to the Council of the European Union to “show courage” in its upcoming decision on the membership applications of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

A number of German political parties, including the opposition CDU/CSU faction, have launched a motion supporting a “rapid granting” of European Union membership candidate status to the Associated Trio countries Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, German media reported on Tuesday.

A delegation of the Foreign Relations Committee of the European Parliament will visit Georgia next week to discuss its annual report on the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union.

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Enrique Mora, the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service, on Wednesday discussed the country’s European Union integration prospects and security challenges amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Georgia’s foreign office said.

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Christian Danielsson, the Swedish State Secretary for European Union Affairs, reviewed Georgia’s fulfilment of the 12-point conditions outlined by the bloc last year for granting it the membership candidate status.