Parliament Committee Chair: Georgia moving closer to EU “despite challenges”

Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said the country was moving closer to the European Union by implementing reforms for integration “despite many challenges”. 

In her remarks addressing the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union in Madrid, Botchorishvili highlighted the importance of granting Georgia the bloc’s membership candidate status, and progress achieved by the country on its European integration path.

Since last June, when Georgia was granted a European perspective, we have done a lot to implement the recommendations of the European Union [outlined for membership candidate status]. Despite many challenges, we kept moving forward with the reforms needed to bring Georgia closer to the EU. As a result, based on the most recent enlargement report, the European Commission has recommended granting the EU candidate status to Georgia”, Botchorishvili said.

She called on the representatives of EU member states to support Georgia’s integration and noted there was “solid ground” for a positive decision by the European Council next month on granting the country the status.

Vast majority of Georgians, who believe Europe is their home, are waiting for this historic decision, which is important both for Georgia and the EU, as it should pave the way for significant geopolitical change, necessary for our common European future”, the Committee Chair added.

Botchorishvili is a part of the Georgian parliamentary delegation involved in the event at the invitation of the Spanish Parliament, with the Conference aiming to discuss the agenda of the Spanish Presidency of the EU and other important matters for the bloc including migration, energy crisis and current state in Ukraine. 

It involves officials from 27 EU member states and candidate countries, with the meetings scheduled to end today.