Parliament official hopes Georgia will join other candidate countries on EU path in December

Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Saturday said she hoped the European Council would grant Georgia the EU membership candidate status in December and the country, together with other candidate countries, would embark on the path to joining the bloc.

In her address at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, in Yerevan, Botchorishvili said granting Georgia the candidate status would be “vital for the better future of Europe”.

• “Positive decision” expected on Georgia’s EU candidacy important “not only for country but region” - Parliament official

She pointed out that despite the security challenges facing Georgia over the decades, the Government was able to transform the country, carry out successful reforms and “make Georgia a valuable part of the democratic world”.

We are grateful for the given European perspective [last year], but we do not hide our disappointment at the unnecessary differentiation between Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova [which on the contrary received the candidate status last year]”, Botchorishvili stressed.

On November 8, the European Commission issued the recommendation for the European Council to grant Georgia the EU candidate status. The final decision on the country’s candidacy will be announced in December.