Parliament official says Georgian authorities “waiting for EU” to make proposal for opening of accession talks

David Matikashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, on Thursday said the country’s Government was “waiting for the European Union” to make a proposal for the opening of accession talks.

In comments following the Government’s announcement last month that it would not include accession talks with the EU in its agenda until 2028, Matikashvili claimed “the ball is in the European Union’s court” on the matter.

“We are waiting for a proposal from the European Union to open accession talks. The sooner the better. In this case, the ball is in the European Union's court”, the Parliament official said, adding the process should “not be a tool for blackmail and manipulation”.

The issue has a political component. The Government head has repeatedly stated that we are completely ready from a political point of view. The sooner this happens from the EU’s side, whether in written form or as a decision, we are ready to immediately agree. This is in our best interest. The ball is now in the EU’s court, and we are waiting for a step from them”, he said.

“We share the spirit of the vast majority of [Georgian] citizens, who, together with the Government, have a strong desire to see this happen promptly”, Matikashvili concluded.

A citizens’ group presented a petition, entitled Open It and We Will Sign It in reference to the accession talks and addressed primarily to the European Union, to the Georgian Parliament, asserting that “no deviation from the European path has occurred, and the Government, which was elected by the majority of citizens, is ready to sign the opening of negotiations with the EU”.

The authors of the petition called on the EU to initiate talks on Georgia’s accession, however the Parliamentary Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules decided to reject to process the submission due to its “technical deficiency” at a session on Thursday.