German Parliament official: Georgia belongs in European Union
In his comments on the meeting, Roth highlighted the “frank and open” discussion with his Georgian counterpart. Photo: Michael Roth / Twitter
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Georgia’s European integration process was discussed on Monday in a meeting between Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, and his German counterpart Michael Roth.
In his comments on the meeting, Roth highlighted the “frank and open” discussion with his Georgian counterpart.
Thank you for the frank + open discussion with my counterpart @Samkharadze79.
— Michael Roth - official ???????????????? (@MiRo_SPD) June 5, 2023
We agree that Georgia belongs in the ???????? but a bumpy road with a lot of work lies ahead. The ???????? people deserve the candidate status but now it’s time for government + parliament to deliver. #ontheRoth pic.twitter.com/Q83wK3Sasx
“We agree that Georgia belongs in the European Union, but a bumpy road with a lot of work lies ahead”, he said in a social media message.
He also stressed Georgian citizens deserved the European Union membership candidate status for their country, but added “now it’s time for the Government and Parliament to deliver”.
The Georgian Government will on Monday submit a 164-page annual report on its work to the country’s legislative body, with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili scheduled to present it to the Parliament on June 30, Parliamentary officials confirmed earlier today.
The speakers of parliaments of Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic will be on an official visit to Georgia from Monday to Tuesday to review Georgia’s European perspective and the strengthening of parliamentary ties between the countries.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday said member states of the European Union had vowed their support for Georgia on its European integration path.
Rati Ionatamishvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday claimed Georgia “deserved” to receive the European Union membership candidate status last year and said a positive decision on the country’s application this year was even more appropriate.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said he hoped the country’s progress in its European integration efforts would be “properly assessed” by the European Union, leading to the membership candidate status being granted to it later this year.
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”.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, on Wednesday said informing French partners on the country's implementation of the European Union conditions for granting it the membership candidate status later this year would be the focus of the visit of a Georgian Parliamentary delegation to Paris on Wednesday.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Wednesday said his personal opinion was that Georgia would receive the EU membership candidate status later this year.
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.