Hungarian PM says EU’s 2022 rejection of membership candidate status for Georgia “very disappointing”
He also emphasised the bloc needed to determine whether its enlargement was a “political or merit-based process” and added the denial of the status to Georgia was “quite unfair” and needed to be “corrected as soon as possible”. Photo via Government Administration
Tweet 
Share
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday said his Government was “very disappointed and angry” at the European Council’s 2022 decision not to grant Georgia its membership candidate status while granting it to the countries that were “far behind” in terms of their qualifications.
Orbán, on a visit to Georgia, said the country should be “given the opportunity to get closer” to the EU, an outcome he said was “also in European interests”.
He also referred to the previous year's meeting between the two governments, highlighting the shared historical experience that "peace has always been better than war" and emphasising the need for a "constant fight" in international politics to resolve disputes through peace agreements as the "most important thing for development".
The visiting PM added Georgians and Hungarians were “standing together and doing everything to pursue this path”.
The head of the Hungarian Government also said the economic growth of the EU over the past 20 years was due to the accession of countries of the Central European region to the bloc, which he said implied the EU “needs such dynamism, such energy, such people who want to work, be creative, who have ambitions”, and noting Georgia “especially deserved” the status.
He also emphasised the bloc needed to determine whether its enlargement was a “political or merit-based process” and added the denial of the status to Georgia was “quite unfair” and needed to be “corrected as soon as possible”.
Orbán claimed the bloc could not modernise its energy system and economy without “close cooperation” with Georgia, and added Green Energy Development infrastructure programmes and the Green Corridor for supplying green energy from Azerbaijan to Europe were “vitally important” for the EU and would serve as a source of economic growth for all participating member states “for many years”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday told his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán his Government had ensured an “open, transparent and inclusive process” for the implementation of the conditions outlined by the European Union last year for granting Tbilisi its membership candidate status.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Wednesday said Hungary was expected to be “vocal” in voicing its support for Georgia’s European integration at the Council of the European Union, the bloc’s key decision-maker, ahead of the EU’s decision later this year whether to grant Tbilisi its membership candidate status.
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister, arrived in Georgia on Tuesday on an official visit alongside his wife and representatives of his Government, the Georgian Government Administration said.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday highlighted his “devotion” to Georgia's European Union membership on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Granada.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday congratulated his Georgian counterpart on Independence Day, which was marked on Thursday, stressing his country supported Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, together with his spouse Nunuka Tamazashvili, on Thursday hosted visiting Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán and his spouse Anikó Lévai in the historical estate of the 19th-century Georgian nobility - Tsinandali Estate in the country’s winemaking Kakheti region.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday completed his three-day official visit to Georgia after holding the first intergovernmental summit with his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili and signing new 10 agreements on cooperation between state agencies of the two countries.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday claimed members of the domestic opposition had “attacked” Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister, during his visit to Georgia this week due to his support for Georgia’s European integration and “adequate values”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said his Government had made "a lot of progress" on obtaining the European Union membership candidate status later this year and added expectations were “quite positive” about the outcome of the work.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday said Georgia was ready to receive the European Union membership candidate status.