German FM vows support for Georgia’s EU integration, stresses Georgian citizens “belong in EU”
At a press briefing with her Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili, Baerbock said her country wanted to see Georgia as a member of the EU, telling the media “we want Georgians to enrich the European Union”. Photo via MFA of Georgia
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is on her first official visit to Georgia, on Friday said Georgian citizens “belong in” the European Union and vowed her country’s support for the country’s European integration.
At a press briefing with her Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili, Baerbock said her country wanted to see Georgia as a member of the EU, telling the media “we want Georgians to enrich the European Union”.
Georgia is the European Union. [...] The Georgian citizens belong to the European Union. Therefore, I came to Georgia with a specific message. We want to see Georgia in the European Union, we want Georgians to enrich the European Union. We will support you on this path”, she told the briefing following her meeting with Darchiashvili.
The top German diplomat stressed Georgia had “friends” both in Brussels and Berlin, and highlighted “great interest” in Georgia among Germans, which she said was manifested in the increase in the number of German tourists interested in visiting the country.
Baerbock also commented on the public protests earlier this month against the “foreign agents” bill that led to its withdrawal by the ruling party on March 9, by saying she had been “very impressed” by the demonstrators protesting with EU flags in the process that was “contributing to the development of civil society”.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said Georgia-Russia relations were limited to “one international platform” in the form of the Geneva International Discussions on matters related to conflicts on the territory of the country.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said the European Union flag was “flying not only at protest rallies, but in the hearts of all of us” given the “historical choice” of EU membership by the country’s citizens.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday hosted his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock during the latter’s first official visit to the country.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Thursday said the annual NATO-Georgia Commission meeting later today would discuss the country’s existing cooperation with the alliance and plans for future “joint activities”.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Josep Borrell, the Vice-President of the European Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Wednesday reviewed matters related to Georgia’s European integration in Brussels.
Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, will pay her first official visit to Georgia on Thursday to “further strengthen bilateral” ties and discuss the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and related reforms with the country’s top officials, the German Embassy to Georgia announced on Wednesday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said if Europe “really wanted” to end political polarisation in Georgia, the bloc should grant the country the European Union membership candidate status.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, on Friday said the Georgian Government and the civil society could not become members of the European Union independently of one another, in comments highlighting the necessity of their joint work on fulfilling the bloc’s conditions for granting the country its membership candidate status.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday said that her country’s citizens showed “great interest” in visiting Georgia, in comments during her first official trip to the country.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said the country enjoyed “full support” and “expressed willingness” of its partners to help “our country” to achieve “further success” in the European and Euro-Atlantic integration process and “peacefully” overcome the existing challenges.
The cooperation between Georgia and Germany, the progress on the European integration path and the implementation of the EU conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock ended her two-day official visit to Georgia later on Friday, with her Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili escorting her to the Tbilisi International Airport for the official departure ceremony.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Head of the European Integration Committee in the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said the issue of Georgia being granted the European Union membership candidate status had become a “political tool” for the domestic opposition.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday highlighted the support received by the country from international partners in its European integration process, and added his Government would continue efforts in the direction, in comments following his participation in the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg.
A delegation of the European Union Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag will be on a visit to Georgia between Tuesday and Friday to discuss reforms and expanding cooperation with the European Union and Germany with Georgian officials and civil society groups.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Tuesday clarified that Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s upcoming Friday’s visit to Germany had been planned in April after the “close consultations” between the countries’ Foreign Ministries, and called on everyone not to “mislead” Georgian society and harm the country’s interests “when evaluating Georgia's foreign policy and our European integration”.
Georgia’s European integration and the progress achieved by the country were discussed on Tuesday by Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, the legislative body’s Environmental Protection Committee Chair Maia Bitadze and Sven Giegold, the State Secretary at the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has announced plans to put Georgia and Moldova on the list of safe countries, Georgian media outlet IPN reported on Wednesday.