Georgia’s “historical” European choice has no alternative - Georgian President

Georgia’s “historical” European choice is “not only legitimate, [but] it has no alternative”, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said on Wednesday, addressing the European Parliament in Brussels.

Zourabichvili noted the Georgian Government, the people and the member countries of the EU should together decide the future of Georgia, “although the population of Georgia has already decided this issue [...] Georgia wants to become a member of the European family”.

She stressed Georgia’s request for EU membership started from the country’s European past, sharing common values and cultural foundations with Europe, emphasising that Georgia would “reunite with” its “European family”. The President vowed she would work hard for Georgia to overcome domestic and international challenges and move towards European integration. 

Zourabichvili once again expressed Georgia’s “principled” solidarity of Ukrainian people amid Russia’s invasion of the country and expressed hope that “in the near future”, representatives of both Georgia and Ukraine would “sit side by side” in the European Parliament, recalling “the price Georgia’s people have paid in the face of Russian aggression” for independence and right to become a member of the free, democratic world.