Parliament Speaker: “important to fix mistake” of EU not granting candidate status to Georgia

In an interview for Imedi TV, Papuashvili stressed the country should receive the membership candidate status from EU authorities. Photo: Parliament of Georgia

Agenda.ge, 17 Feb 2023 - 11:01, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said the European Union had made a "mistake" by not granting a membership candidate status to Georgia last year, adding it was now “important" to see the error "fixed".

In an interview for Imedi TV, Papuashvili stressed the country should receive the membership candidate status from EU authorities. 

Georgia should receive the membership candidate status. This is what we are told in all [European] capitals. This is the mood - that [last year] the EU made a mistake by not granting the candidate status to Georgia, and it is important that this mistake is fixed”, Papuashvili said. 

The Speaker said Georgian authorities were doing “everything” to ensure the country received the status, in a reference to the ongoing implementation of the EU's conditions for the outcome.

We are of course doing everything to ensure that if the decision is based on merit, the European Union has no argument not to make such a decision. As for its political part [of the decision], we hope that there will be a positive decision in this regard as well”, Papuashvili concluded.