Georgia closer to EU than Ukraine, Moldova “on fundamental questions” - Parliament Speaker
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said the country should have been granted a membership candidate status in June 2022. Photo: .Parliament press office
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said Georgia was ahead of both Ukraine and Moldova in “fundamental questions” related to their alignment with the European Union, in comments on the European Commission's new report on the three countries aspiring for EU membership.
Papuashvili said Georgia had shown “best results” in three of the six groups of questions in the report, including for matters related to “fundamental areas” evaluating the trio’s alignment of EU laws.
He also claimed the country should have been granted a membership candidate status in June 2022 - as Moldova and Ukraine were - had a “merit-based” decision been made by EU authorities.
Good news from Brussels: based on EC’s report on sectoral part of Georgia’s questionnaire,???????? is a Trio leader in 3 out of 6 clusters: fundamentals, internal market & competitiveness - ????????’s heart & soul. It only proves that ???????? should be a candidate state on the basis of merit. pic.twitter.com/UUqvh8EHog
— Shalva Papuashvili ???????? (@shpapuashvili) February 3, 2023
The report also makes us once again think of the Georgians, who, with the use of all possible measures, have been trying to assure the bloc their country does not deserve the status”, he said in reference to the domestic opposition.
“Along with this report, several international surveys published recently put Georgia ahead of several EU and NATO member states for its efforts in combating corruption and ensuring human freedoms”, Papuashvili added, citing the Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International and the Human Freedom Index by United States-based Cato Institute and Canadian-based Fraser Institute.
The European Commission's 57-page analytical report on Georgia was released on Thursday, focusing on the country’s alignment of EU laws in 33 chapters following the country’s application for membership last year.
It completed the Commission’s opinion on Georgia’s application, assessed the country’s overall capacity to uphold obligations of membership, and offered guidance on the work ahead under the different acquis chapters.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said he hoped the country’s European partners would consider the results of its implementation of the European Union conditions for granting it the membership candidate status, after the release of a European Commission report that noted its progress in the work.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday responded to the newly published European Commission report on the country’s alignment with the European Union by stressing the document had “once again demonstrated” his country deserved the membership candidate status as a “top reformer”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the European Commission’s new report on Georgia had revealed that under an “objective decision” the country should “definitely” receive a European Union membership candidate status this year.
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.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Saturday said the country entered the “final phase” of the accession process to the European Union and the final decision would “inevitably” mean Georgia’s full membership of the Union.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday highlighted the work of “Parliamentary diplomacy” in his summary of the work of the legislative body on forming foreign ties throughout the past year.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday urged domestic opposition parties to “distance themselves from large, radical groups” on the domestic scene to facilitate the formation of a “healthier political environment” in the country.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said every day that went without Georgia having the European Union membership candidate status was an “injustice” towards the country, in his summary of the work of the legislative body throughout the past year.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said allegations from a part of the domestic opposition about the Government’s “covert relations” with Russia formed a part of a “$1 million propaganda” effort, following revelations of a United States-based law firm having received a sum close to the figure from the family of the imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for lobbying the US Government to help free the convicted former official.