European Council: future of Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine "remains in EU"
The EC recognised the European perspective of the three states with its decision in June 2022, the document pointed out, giving a "renewed encouragement" to them to make "further progress" to meet EU requirements. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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The European Council on Monday published Conclusions on European Union priorities for cooperation with the Council of Europe 2023-2024, with the document noting the future of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and their citizens "lies within the EU”.
“The prospect of EU membership represents a significant factor of stability in Europe which the Council of Europe continues to reinforce”, the report said.
Conclusions on EU priorities for cooperation with the Council of Europe 2023-2024.
— EU Council Press (@EUCouncilPress) January 30, 2023
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The EC recognised the European perspective of the three states with its decision in June 2022, the document pointed out, giving a "renewed encouragement" to them to make "further progress" to meet EU requirements.
It also said the EU and the Council of Europe would continue acting together in order to help candidate countries and potential candidates for EU accession to make "apparent advancement" in their reform-making process to pass the EU’s membership criteria.
“Our joint programmes in the Enlargement and Neighbourhood regions will continue to support reform efforts in the fields of human rights, democracy and the rule of law”, the report concluded.
The Georgian Government has ensured “all possible” progress for the country’s European integration over the past decade, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Monday at his joint briefing with visiting Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday welcomed the first visit of the Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer to Georgia as “historic”, and pointed to the significance of the development as a confirmation of Austria’s “strong support” for the country.
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, as well as the Western Balkans countries, are members of the European family, António Costa, the prime minister of Portugal said on Saturday at the international congress of the Party of European Socialists in Berlin, in which the Georgian delegation is participating.
Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday discussed the implementation of the European Union’s 12-point conditions for the country’s membership candidate status and bilateral parliamentary cooperation in a Tbilisi meeting with members of the EU-Georgia parliamentary association committee.
The European Commision will present a report on the priorities in the enlargement package in 2023 to give the Georgian political system “sufficient time” to “thoroughly work” on the priorities for the European Union membership candidate status, Michael Rupp, a representative of the European Commission, said on Wednesday.
The Georgian Government is "mobilised to meet all conditions" set by the European Union for granting member candidate status to Georgia in a timely manner, in order to obtain the status on time, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at a briefing at the Government Administration on Friday.
Javier Colomina, the NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, on Friday congratulated Georgia with being granted the perspective of accession to the European Union.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, on Thursday said the body had granted the European Union membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, and was ready to grant the same status to Georgia once the outstanding priorities outlined by the European Commission were addressed by the Georgian Government.
Ukrainians, Moldovans and Georgians deserve to live in “free, democratic and prosperous” countries that are “proud and committed members” of the European family, a resolution approved by the European Parliament said on Thursday.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, said the body would recognise the “European perspective” of the Associated Trio countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on Thursday.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday hailed the “historic” decision of the European Commission to recommend the European Council to grant Georgia a European perspective, in an address to the Georgian Parliament.
Cooperation between Georgia and Moldova and the countries’ European integration process were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting between the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Oleg Serebrian, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration.
Principal areas of cooperation between Georgia and Moldova were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Oleg Serebrian, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration.
Khatuna Samnidze, an opposition MP and the Chair of the Republican Party, on Tuesday said the Georgian authorities were “doing everything” to prevent use of the country’s territory for circumvention of the sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Tuesday said the comment by the Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who on Monday said he was “glad that Georgia supported all the financial sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU”, was a “slap in the face to those who “make up fake news” on the sanctions being evaded using the Georgian territory.
The agenda of cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats between Georgia and Moldova and “traditionally friendly relations” between the countries were discussed on Tuesday by Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Oleg Serebrian, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Friday congratulated the country’s Government on a “positive report” on Georgia’s alignment with the European Union, released by the European Commission on Thursday.
The “principal” directions of cooperation between Hungary and Georgia were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Balázs Orbán, the director of the political department of the Prime Minister of Hungary.
Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman is on his first visit to Georgia and will on Thursday meet his counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili to review the cooperation between the two countries.
The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council on Monday confirmed Georgia had made “significant progress” in “many key reforms” carried out in the country’s efforts for integration into the bloc, and highlighted the roles of rule of law, human rights, media, civil society and independent state institutions as “important elements” for each country aspiring to join the bloc.
Georgian Vice Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze on Tuesday called on the European Union to make a “bold political decision” on granting Georgia its membership candidate status by the end of this year, saying the outcome could prevent security threats to the country and the whole European security.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday said the radical domestic opposition was sabotaging the implementation of the 12 priorities, outlined by the European Union last year for granting its membership candidate status to Georgia.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Saturday said Georgia would fulfil all 12 priorities set by the European Union for granting the country its membership candidate status, so that there would be “no reason left” for not granting Georgia the status in December.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Thursday said the European Union “should not repeat its mistake” of failing to grant Georgia its membership candidate status in 2022 and make a positive decision on the status in December, a move he claimed would reveal the bloc’s “attitude to the long struggle of the Georgian people” for the country to regain its place in the “European family”.