Parliament Vice Speaker: Georgia to move to “new stage” of European integration

Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker, on Monday said the country would receive the European Union membership candidate status and move to a “new stage” of integration with the accession phase.

In his remarks ahead of the European Commission’s anticipated recommendation this week on whether the country should receive the candidacy, Talakvadze noted the Georgian Government had implemented “European reforms” in the country “with the support of the public” and “returned” a “European perspective” to the state.

We expect that there will be a positive assessment [from the European Commission] and this assessment will become the basis for granting the status [to the country]”, Talakvadze said.

The Parliament official also said Georgia “deserved” to “take another important step” on the path of European integration, and noted the outcome was in the “mutual interests” of Georgia and the EU.

With high probability, we expect that such a decision will be made. Georgia will receive the candidate status and we will move to a new stage of European integration, which is already the accession stage”, he continued.

Talakvadze also called the “narrative” of the domestic “radical” opposition that the country’s citizens must join the EU without the Government “Russian propaganda”.