EU Commissioner: Pace of Georgia’s progress on EU path depends on “key reforms” implementation

The pace of Georgia’s progress on the path to European Union integration depends on the implementation of “key reforms”, Oliver Varhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy, said on Tuesday.

Varhelyi responded by his letter to Georgian civil organisations, which had addressed the EU Commissioner on 23 March and asked “for the interim evaluation [of the country’s progress in fulfilling the 12 recommendations for granting Georgia the EU candidate country status] to be public and accessible to the stakeholders, including the civil society of the country”.

The EU Commissioner noted the European Commission would orally present updated information to the Council on Georgia’s progress this spring, and added an official report on the fulfilment of the priorities by Georgia would be included in the Commission’s annual Autumn Package.

In his letter, the Commissioner thanked the civil organisations and highlighted the “essential role” of civil society in the European integration process.

The Commission is “closely” monitoring the steps taken by Georgia for the implementation of the EU recommendations and contributing to solving “key issues” in the country “quickly and effectively”, Varhelyi said, reaffirming the Commission’s commitment to supporting Georgia on its European path.