European Council grants EU candidate status to Georgia - Council President
“A clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent”, the European Council President said in the post following the Council’s summit, addressing the enlargement package. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Charles Michel, the European Council President, on Thursday said the Council granted Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
In his social media post, Michel noted the Council had also decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, while negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina would be opened, “once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached”.
The European Council has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine & Moldova. #EUCO granted candidate status to Georgia. And the EU will open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached and…
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) December 14, 2023
A clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent”, the European Council President said in the post following the Council’s summit, addressing the enlargement package.
The European Commission on November 8 recommended the Council to grant Georgia the EU candidate status.
Georgia officially applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after accelerating the initial plan to submit the membership application by 2024.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Thursday said the European Union member states “unequivocally” supported granting Georgia the bloc membership candidate status.
Leaders of European Union member states on Thursday vowed their support for granting the bloc’s membership candidate status to Georgia, ahead of the European Council summit that will address the enlargement package on Thursday and Friday.
The European Commission on Wednesday issued the recommendation for the European Council to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
Charles Michel, the European Council President, on Thursday pledged his body’s support for Georgia’s European integration efforts, saying “much” in the process would be dependent on the country’s implementation of the 12-point conditions outlined by the bloc last year for granting its membership candidate status to Georgia.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday congratulated Georgian people on the European Council’s decision to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
Paweł Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia and the ambassadors of the EU member states on Thursday congratulated Georgia on being granted the bloc’s membership candidate status.
The hilltop TV tower overlooking Georgia's capital Tbilisi and the Bridge of Peace are on Thursday illuminated in the colours of the European Union flag in a symbolic move after the European Council granted Georgia its membership candidate status this evening.
December 14 will be recorded as “a historic day”, starting today Georgia is a European state, the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday following the European Council’s decision on granting Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday congratulated Georgian people on “this historic day” - being granted the European Union membership candidate status.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Thursday praised the European Council's decision to grant her country the European Union membership candidate status, describing it as a "monumental milestone" for Georgia and "our European family".
Georgian authorities have congratulated citizens on the country being successfully granted the European Union membership candidate status by the European Council on Thursday, praising the decision as “a dream come true”.
The Government Administration building is on Friday illuminated in the colours of the European Union flag in a symbolic move after the European Council decided to grant the country the European Union membership candidate status, the Administration said.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday hailed the efforts of the country’s population and its Government in obtaining the European Union membership candidate status on Thursday, making the comments in a public celebration dedicated to the “historic victory” in Tbilisi.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday reacted to the country being granted the European Union membership candidate status by saying Europe was “neither just a geography nor just a political unity” for Georgia but represented “our worldview, our spirituality and our natural state”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said all nine priorities set out by the European Commission for opening European Union accession talks with the country would be fulfilled, pledging the ruling party would present a “detailed plan” on their implementation.
The Georgian and German interior ministers on Tuesday signed an agreement on migration and mobility between the states in Tbilisi with the primary objective to strengthen cooperation for labour migration and education.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday commended Germany’s “important role” in backing his country’s European Union membership candidate status and welcomed the latest agreement between the two states to further strengthen education and migration cooperation.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Wednesday asserted the country’s authorities were committed to fulfilling the “historical mission” of the country’s European integration, a task he said had been “entrusted” to the authorities by the people.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Wednesday said the results of the work of the Georgian foreign office were “apparent”, particularly in the country being granted the European Union membership candidate status last week.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday awarded Teimuraz Janjalia, his Deputy, and Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, the country’s Ambassador to the European Union, with a prize recognising their contributions to the work that ensured the country received the EU membership candidate status last week.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday expressed the ruling team’s confidence the country would join the European Union before Ukraine and Moldova.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, on Friday said Georgia could close accession negotiations with the European Union, once the bloc would open it with the country, “much more rapidly” than any other country.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday commended the “shared commitment” of his Government and the country's public in obtaining the European Union membership candidate status this month.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the country had achieved one of the “greatest victories” in its modern history by obtaining the European Union membership candidate status this month “despite internal and external challenges”.
The Government of Georgia on Monday revealed an action plan designed to fulfil the conditions outlined by the European Commission in November, a prerequisite for initiating accession talks with the European Union.
Georgia's Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze on Tuesday labelled the country's candidacy for the European Union as a "pivotal moment not only in the last decade but since gaining independence” from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday discussed “close and friendly ties” with Italy and the latter’s support for Georgia’s European integration in a meeting with the outgoing Italian Ambassador Enrico Valvo.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said his party's approval rating had reached its "high" since its assuming of office in 2012 following the country’s obtaining of the European Union membership candidate status earlier this month.
Beka Dzamashvili, the Georgian Deputy Justice Minister, on Thursday highlighted the “significant role” of domestic reforms against human trafficking in the country obtaining the European Union membership candidate status this month.
Paweł Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Saturday said his “personal New Year’s wish did come true” and Georgia was starting 2024 as an EU candidate country.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday announced the creation of working groups in the Parliament to address the nine conditions outlined by the European Commission for opening European Union accession talks with Tbilisi, noting the groups would be open for opposition participation.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday highlighted the common goal of a “bigger, stronger and better” Europe.
Georgia's European Union integration was discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, and Marc Nordberg, the Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs of the United States Embassy in Georgia.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Friday said he hoped a “prompt initiation” of accession talks between the country and the bloc could be facilitated, stressing the pace of the transition was contingent upon Tbilisi’s fulfilment of the nine conditions set out by the European Commission in November.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the Georgian Government was “doing everything” to fulfil the nine priorities set out by the European Commission in November for the country’s European Union integration.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said he anticipated a “productive exchange” with domestic opposition and members of the civil sector on the work for the nine conditions outlined by the European Commission in November for opening the European Union accession talks with Tbilisi after the latter’s obtaining the bloc’s candidacy in December.
"I sense the organisations behind this assessment harbour resentment towards the Georgian authorities, leading them to unfairly criticise Georgia. This assessment lacks credibility. Comparing Georgia unfavourably to Ukraine and Moldova is totally unfounded”, Papuashvili said.
Georgian officials on Monday highlighted the work of the outgoing Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s after he announced his exit from the position of the head of the Government earlier during the day.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Tuesday said Irakli Garibashvili, who announced his resignation from the position of the Prime Minister on Monday, had demonstrated himself as an “effective” head of the executive power during his latest three-year-tenure.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the candidate for the position of the Prime Minister of Georgia, on Thursday said the Government’s “well-defined” plan for ensuring the country’s European Union integration involved fulfilment of the nine priorities set out by the European Commission in November for the purpose.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Friday commended “very promising” initial statements by Irakli Kobakhidze, the candidate presented by the ruling Georgian Dream party for the position of the Prime Minister, as part of his commitment to advancing the country’s EU integration progress through implementation of the conditions for opening accession talks with the bloc.
David Matikashvili, the First Deputy Chair of the Legal Issues Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said fulfilling the nine conditions set out by the European Commission in November for opening European Union accession talks with the country was the Government’s “priority”.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry on Monday addressed Matteo Mecacci, the Director of the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, with an invitation to send observers for the general elections in the country, set for October.
Lawrence Meredith, the European Union Ambassador to New Zealand, on Wednesday highlighted his meeting with Beka Dvali, the Georgian Ambassador to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific, with the latter's first official visit to the country.