Council of EU welcomes Georgia’s overall preparation to assume bloc’s membership obligations

The Council of the European Union on Tuesday welcomed the overall preparation of Georgia to assume obligations of the bloc’s membership.

In conclusions on European Union enlargement, the body took note of the European Commission’s report on Georgia and its recommendation to grant the country the membership candidate status, by saying it was “look[ing] forward to the forthcoming discussion of the European Council on this matter”.

The Council called on Georgia to demonstrate a “clear commitment” to EU values, continue to progress on the reform agenda and fulfil the conditions specified by the European Commission “inclusively, meaningfully and irreversibly”, in order to further advance towards future membership.

The Council takes good note of the genuine aspirations of the overwhelming majority of Georgian people towards EU membership. The Council welcomes the overall good legislative framework, institutional setup and vibrant civil society, including watchdog organisations, and recalls that these elements provide Georgia with a sound basis to advance democratic and rule of law reforms”, the document said. 

The Council also acknowledged the overall progress on public administration reform, public procurement and economic reforms and welcomed the overall preparation of Georgia to assume the obligations of membership, and further encouraged a “sustained” level of alignment with EU acquis and standards and further deepening the sectoral cooperation with the bloc.

The document also called on all political actors in Georgia to demonstrate “constructive” cooperation and dialogue, overcome polarisation and refrain from actions that could further deepen the political tensions and hamper the country’s democratic institutions and reform agenda.

The Council also underlined the importance of combating disinformation, foreign information manipulation and interference against the EU and its values, and called on the Georgian Government to take “meaningful steps” towards this end.

The body reiterated the “proper functioning” of democratic institutions, and reforms related to justice and the rule of law, should remain a priority for the country. 

It also underlined its “strong expectation” for Georgia to “substantially increase” its alignment with the bloc’s Common Foreign and Security Policy positions and restrictive measures, including in line with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.