Parliament official: European partners “acknowledge mistake” of not granting Georgia EU candidate status last year

Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Tuesday said the Government’s European partners were “acknowledging” the “mistake” of last year’s decision not to grant the country the European Union membership candidate status. 

Botchorishvili, who is on a visit to Strasbourg with a Parliamentary delegation, noted the importance of not using Georgia’s case for “narrow partisan interests” either in the country or within the EU.

Of course, they [European partners] acknowledge that there was a mistake when Georgia was not granted the candidate status, and they believe that this mistake should be corrected as quickly as possible. A political decision should be made in December in favour of Georgia”, Botchorishvili said.

She added that Georgian officials would continue to consult with European partners on matters related to the status, as “it is important that Georgia has firm support during this period”.