CoE Sec Gen hopes Georgia will receive EU candidate status after fulfilling several conditions
The Council’s relationship with the EU, based on the 2007 memorandum of understanding, has “dramatically” changed, as the Council has grown and the Union has “expanded even more”, Burić said, expressing hope the relations would become “more active” and “more important”. Photo via Foreign Ministry
Tweet 
Share
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić on Tuesday said Georgia had several conditions to fulfil, upon which she hoped the country would be granted the European Union membership candidate status.
The Council’s relationship with the EU, based on the 2007 memorandum of understanding, has “dramatically” changed, as the Council has grown and the Union has “expanded even more”, Burić said, expressing hope the relations would become “more active” and “more important”.
The European Council granted the membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova last year and said it was “ready to give” the same status to Georgia once the outstanding priorities outlined by the European Commission would be addressed by the Georgian Government.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said Marija Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, had “positively” assessed the ongoing reforms in Georgia, including those related to fulfilment of the European Union conditions for granting the country a membership candidate status.
The European Parliament on Wednesday approved its annual report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy that said the “future of the peoples of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia as well as the Western Balkans lies within the EU”.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Monday said the European Commission and EU member states would “do everything to help you and we hope for a positive result” in the bloc’s assessment of the country’s implementation of conditions for receiving a EU membership candidate status.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said the European Council’s June decision on granting Georgia a European perspective instead of the European Union membership candidate status had been “political” and “not based on merit”, with the Government head adding his team nevertheless believed the country would receive the latter “very soon”.
Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian Parliament’s Vice Speaker, on Friday said the “fruitful” cooperation between the country’s authorities and the Council of Europe served as “additional motivation” for a further consolidation of democracy, strengthening of the rule of law and protection of human rights in the country.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday highlighted the latest resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by saying “everyone [except] a part of our opposition” could see the progress mentioned in the document.
The steps taken by Georgia for fulfilling the European Union’s 12-point conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status and the security environment in the Black Sea region were discussed on Saturday by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Tuesday said the participation of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in the fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik this week carried a “special importance”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said his country’s “key message” at the ongoing Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik was that it “deserved” to receive the European Union membership candidate status by the end of this year.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili will feature in the second European Political Community Summit in the Moldovan capital of Chișinău on Thursday, with the event bringing together 47 heads of state and government across the continent.
Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General, on Friday visited central Georgia’s village of Odzisi, which separates the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country, as part of her official visit to Georgia.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General, on Saturday discussed the existing cooperation, as well as the significance of the CoE’s support to Georgia.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Saturday hosted Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General, in an informal meeting in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, discussing the CoE’s support to the country.
Bjørn Berge, the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and Lasha Darsalia, the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia, on Thursday launched the CoE’s fourth Action Plan for Georgia, which aims to support the country’s efforts to meet its obligations as the Council member through further promotion of European standards and values.