Georgia’s FM assured progress on EU candidacy priorities “well on track” - EU Commissioner
Georgian FM met EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi in Brussels on Wednesday. Photo: Foreign Ministry press office
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Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on Wednesday said the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili had assured him the country’s progress in its implementation of the priorities outlined by the bloc for granting it the membership candidate status was “well on track”.
In his social media post following a meeting with the Georgian official in Brussels, Varhelyi stressed it was “important” for the country to continue its efforts for the implementation of the conditions to have them fulfilled before the bloc’s enlargement report later this year.
Discussed #Georgia’s progress on its EU path.
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) July 19, 2023
???????? Minister Darchiashvili assured me that progress on the 12 priorities is well on track.
Important to continue & accelerate this work before our 2023 Enlargement Report. @iliadarch @MFAgovge pic.twitter.com/XFmkq42xS5
In his remarks, Darchiashvili said he hoped his country’s efforts to join the bloc would be “properly recognised” in the forthcoming report.
Tbilisi officially applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European Council granted Georgia a European perspective and outlined a reform agenda for the candidate status in June of the same year.
The European Commission has been scheduled to present its report on the implementation of the conditions in October, which will be used by the EU Council to decide on the country’s candidacy in December.
The process of Georgia's accession to the European Union, the current agenda of the cooperation between the sides and future steps were discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Oliver Varhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.
Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to Georgia, on Tuesday vowed his country’s support for Georgia’s aspiration to become a member of the European Union.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili will be in Brussels for a working visit from Tuesday to Wednesday to meet high-ranking European Union officials including Oliver Varhelyi, the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.
Partnership ties between Georgia and the United Kingdom were discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his British counterpart James Cleverly on the sidelines of the ongoing NATO Vilnius Summit.
Gert Jan Koopman, the head of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, on Wednesday said the Commission welcomed the Georgian Government’s “keen interest” in making “further progress” on the bloc’s conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status later this year.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili will be in Portugal on a working visit from Thursday to Friday to hold “high-level” meetings with officials of the country’s Government.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his Portuguese counterpart João Cravinho on Thursday discussed bilateral cooperation, security challenges in Georgia and the wider world and Tbilisi’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The cooperation between Georgia and Portugal and Georgia’s European integration were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Tiago Antunes, the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Tuesday expressed his hope Georgia would move “one step further” on its path towards the European Union accession.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the Georgian Government was doing “everything” for the country to receive the European Union membership candidate status later this year in December.
Georgian and Irish foreign offices on Thursday signed the first memorandum between the bodies, with the document backing the enlargement of the European Union and highlighting Georgia’s “European future”, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday discussed cooperation, his country’s European Union integration aspirations, security and conflict issues with Helga Maria Schmid, the Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and his Romanian and German counterparts on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.