Hungary “firmly supports” Georgia’s EU candidacy as decision “with no alternatives” - ruling party head

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the Hungarian Government was “firmly supporting” the granting of the European Union membership candidate status to Georgia by the European Council this month as a decision “with no alternatives”. 

• Georgian ruling party head to meet top officials in Hungary visit

In his press comments after meeting with János Latorcai, the Deputy Parliament Speaker of Hungary in Budapest, the lawmaker stressed the discussion centred on bilateral cooperation and Tbilisi’s European integration prospects. 

Georgia deserves the status, and we anticipate a positive decision on December 14-15 at the European Council meeting. Our discussions with the Hungarian partners reinforce our belief in this outcome. There are strong grounds for a favourable decision for Georgia, and we remain hopeful for the support of our European partners”, Kobakhidze said. 

He noted negotiations between Hungary and the bloc, with the country threatening to block $50 billion of European aid for Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia, were “very unlikely” to make “any impact” on Georgia’s candidacy. 

The party official also claimed it was “inappropriate” to link the issues of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova “in this context”, before pledging Tbilisi’s support for EU integration bids of the countries.

Connecting Georgia's topic with the talks over Ukraine is absolutely artificial", he said. 

The European Commission recommended the European Council last month to grant the EU candidate status to Georgia and open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.