Georgian President: time for EU “strategic decision” on Georgia’s membership
In an interview with Bloomberg news agency, Zourabichvili said the EU and Georgia “need to move forward” around the matter of the latter’s integration. Photo: Presidential Administration
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Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday called for a “strategic decision by Europe” concerning the country’s European Union membership candidate status.
In an interview with Bloomberg news agency, Zourabichvili said the EU and Georgia “need to move forward” around the matter of the latter’s integration.
You have to give us candidate status. We aren’t perfect, I know that there are things that we have not been doing, but I think that despite all that, we need to move forward”, she told the interview.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said he hoped the EU would make a "fair decision" on granting Georgia the membership candidate status by the end of the year.
In June 2022, the European Council granted the membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, and said it would be ready to grant the same status to Georgia once the outstanding priorities outlined by the European Commission were addressed by the Georgian Government.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said he hoped the European Union would make a "fair decision" on granting Georgia the membership candidate status by the end of the year.
The Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Wednesday hosted the fifth high-level Strategic Security Dialogue between Georgia and the European Union, reflecting the “strong level” of commitment by both parties to take the cooperation forward, including foreign and security policy, in accordance with the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.
The European Parliament on Wednesday approved its annual report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy that said the “future of the peoples of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia as well as the Western Balkans lies within the EU”.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Wednesday noted “progress” made by Georgian authorities on some priorities outlined by the EU for granting the country a membership candidate status, with his office waiting for “certain decisions” to be made on other issues.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili will start her working visit to the United States on Sunday, within which she is set to address the representatives of the United Nations member states on Monday at the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women with a focus on the empowerment of women and girls.
The current situation in the South Caucasus region, the ongoing war in Ukraine, matters of Black Sea security and the situation in the Russian-occupied territories of Georgia were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.