December 14 will be recorded as “historic day”, Georgia is European state from today - PM on obtaining EU candidate status
Garibashvili also congratulated on today’s “historic victory” each member of his team, the Government and thousands of civil servants, Georgia’s Parliament, the ruling Georgian Dream party, “each member who made their worthy contribution to the achievement of this great historic victory”. Photo via Government Administration
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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.
My dear compatriots, with great pride and joy, I congratulate you on the historic decision - Georgia has become a candidate country for EU membership. I want to congratulate every citizen on today's historic day. This is truly a victory for our country and our people. This is really a well-earned, well-deserved status that we, the Government, have gained with our people and for our people. We fought, we won”, Garibashvili noted.
He emphasised “this victory belongs” to the Georgian people, noting it was the result of joint work and struggle, “I would like to thank all the people who laid every brick in this historic victory and brought this victory to our people”, he added.
???????? is ???????? candidate country! Grateful to @EUCouncil ???????? leaders, @CharlesMichel, @vonderleyen, @OliverVarhelyi for acknowledging ????????’s civilizational choice. We remain dedicated & eagerly look forward to advancing on our ???????? integration path.
— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) December 14, 2023
The Head of the Government “most importantly” thanked each leader of all 27 EU member states for “their unanimity, strong support and trust”, as well as Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, the European Council President, Oliver Varhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy, who had been involved in the process “all this time”.
Charles Michel called me today and personally congratulated me on today’s decision and this historic victory. I have the honour to convey his congratulations to the Georgian people”, the PM stressed.
Garibashvili also congratulated on today’s “historic victory” each member of his team, the Government and thousands of civil servants, Georgia’s Parliament, the ruling Georgian Dream party, “each member who made their worthy contribution to the achievement of this great historic victory”.
The contributions of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, were highlighted by the PM, who congratulated Ivanishvili and said his governance “has brought this very day and this success”, stressing since coming to power in 2012 the Georgian Dream team “has reached the maximum [by its work]”.
Today can be said to be a kind of accomplishment of our successful governance efforts”, Garibashvili emphasised.
He noted during his governance he had had “the honour” to sign the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014 on behalf of Georgia and the visa-free travel deal, as well as to apply for EU membership on March 3, 2022, adding the European perspective granted last year “proved” that Georgia would become a member of the European family.
The Head of the Government called on citizens to join the celebration of the “historic victory” - obtaining the EU candidate status - on Friday at Freedom Square in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi at 17:00, and stressed “tomorrow should be a national celebration and common victory”.
Georgian officials congratulated citizens on being granted the candidate status, following the announcement of the country’s candidacy by the European Council President Charles Michel earlier today.
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.
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.
Charles Michel, the European Council President, on Thursday said the Council granted Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
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.
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".
Leaders and officials from governments across the West on Thursday congratulated Georgia on receiving the European Union membership candidate status, following the summit of the European Council that endorsed the bloc’s enlargement package on Thursday.
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”.
Three opposition MPs on Friday pledged their commitment to join the Government's work for the country’s further integration into the European Union, after the European Council granted Georgia the bloc’s candidacy the previous day.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the Georgian Government was “not going to relax” on the back of the European Council’s decision on Thursday to grant the country the European Union membership candidate status, as membership in the bloc was the “ultimate goal” of the authorities.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Friday said the European Union membership candidate status, which he said had been “deservedly” granted to the country on Thursday, would be “imprinted as a breakthrough moment of historic value”.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday said the decision of the European Council to grant the country the bloc’s membership candidate status on Thursday was “based on the will of Georgian citizens”.
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.
The voice of the people of Georgia is “clearly heard” in the European Union, Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to the country, on Friday told the public at the event celebrating the European Council’s decision to grant the country the EU candidate status.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said the decision of the European Council to grant the country the bloc’s membership candidate status the previous day was the result of the Government's “hard work” per the interests of the Georgian people.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party and Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream and Tbilisi Mayor, on Friday joined the celebration event at the central Freedom Square on the occasion of obtaining the European Union membership status on the previous day, and congratulated the citizens on the “victory”.
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”.
The European Union Delegation to Georgia on Saturday released a scenic reel of capital Tbilisi’s landmarks illuminated in the colours of the EU flag in a symbolic move after the European Council granted Georgia its membership candidate status on December 14.
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.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Tuesday highlighted the country’s “special, civilisational” ties with Europe, and further pointed out that “our European partners rightly believe that Georgia belongs to the European family”, in comments at the ongoing annual Ambassadorial Conference in Georgia's capital city of Tbilisi.
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on Wednesday said Georgia “continues progressing on its EU enlargement track” as the bloc’s candidate country, after his meeting with Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia.