Georgia to be “most ready” to join European Union by 2030 - ruling party head
The ruling party head also claimed Georgia was a “fundamentally democratic” country with “free and fair elections, an independent media, a vibrant political scene and protection of human rights”. Photo: Georgian Dream Press Office
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Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said Georgia would be leading the countries aspiring to join the European Union in terms of its readiness by 2030.
Kobakhidze’s comment followed a statement by Charles Michel, the European Council President, who on Monday said the EU “must be ready” for enlargement by 2030.
The Georgian official said Michel’s mentioning of a “specific year” in the comment was “important”, and noted candidate countries who had been aspiring to join the bloc over the recent decades.
The ruling party head said Georgia had “made progress” in terms of fulfilling the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Council for granting the country the EU membership candidate status later this year.
He also claimed Georgia had “never been so close” to the EU and added it was the “Government’s responsibility to do more to advance qualitative rapprochement” with the bloc.
The ruling party head also claimed Georgia was a “fundamentally democratic” country with “free and fair elections, an independent media, a vibrant political scene and protection of human rights”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the Georgian Government was “successfully implementing” the policy of non-recognition of the country’s Russian-occupied territories by foreign countries, and noted “no statement can prevent us from doing so”.
Gia Volski, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said “scepticism” on Georgia’s prospects for joining the European Union was “misplaced” given European leaders were seeing a “real chance” of EU’s enlargement by 2030.
The implementation of the European Union conditions for granting Georgia the membership candidate status later this year was discussed on Thursday in a phone call between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Wednesday said he was certain that Belgium would be one of those countries that would support Georgia’s European integration “very openly and strongly”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party and Jonathan Djanogly, the Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Georgia in the British Parliament, on Tuesday discussed the current political processes in Georgia, as well as bilateral cooperation.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday expressed his wish to see a “clearer, time-bound” plan for accession of countries to the European Union, but added for Georgia the “most important thing” was to “consistently move forward” towards Europe.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, would visit the country this week.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday claimed the progress achieved by the country on its European integration path was “exclusively” the merit of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative, will be on a visit to Georgia from Thursday to Friday to discuss progress on the country’s European integration path and exchange views on wider foreign policy and regional matters, the bloc’s diplomatic service said on Monday.
Vedant Patel, the Deputy Spokesperson of the United States Department of State, on Tuesday urged the Georgian Government and “all domestic stakeholders” to “come together now” and work towards receiving the European Union membership candidate status for the country.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday claimed the European Union’s decision later this year on whether to grant Georgia its membership candidate status would have an influence on the domestic political environment.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said Tbilisi had “grounds for optimism” about obtaining the European Union membership candidate status later this year.