Georgian PM Hands Over Second Part of EU Membership Questionnaire to Ambassador Carl Hartzell
By Khatia Bzhalava
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili handed over the second part of Georgia's European Union membership questionnaire ahead of the set deadline to the EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell. The Prime Minister pointed out that “Georgia's European choice is a decision with no alternative” and emphasized that it is the choice of the Georgian people and not just of the Government. As the governmental press center informs, the ambassador thanked the Prime Minister and stressed that the questionnaire would be very helpful to the European Commission in delivering its opinion.
"It is my pleasure to deliver to you our questionnaire answers. We have completed filling it, a total of 7 volumes. We are happy to hand it over to you, and we are looking forward to the European Commission's and member states' decisions," the Prime Minister said.
The second, sectoral part of the European Commission's questionnaire incorporates 33 chapters and up to 2,300 questions. The topics covered by the questionnaire range from existing legislation on work permits and the freedom of movement of workers to anti-discriminatory laws. The document touches upon the existing banking and non-cash payment systems in the country, and whether there are effective laws in force to prevent money laundering and the funding of illegal activities. The questions also focus on Georgia’s intellectual property laws and the extent of copyright laws regarding computer applications and technology as well.
According to the official statement, to complete the larger part of the questionnaire effectively and fit within tight deadlines, all relevant institutions were engaged and the process was personally supervised by the Head of Government. After accepting the completed questionnaire, the European Commission will prepare its assessment and refer it to the Council of the European Union afterward, with the relevant decision expected by the end of June.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili has expressed his hope that the European partners would ‘properly’ assess the country’s progress on the path to European Union integration. According to him, the questionnaire “fully reflected” the reforms implemented and planned by Georgia on its path to European integration.
“We hope that the efforts made by the Government of Georgia, all Government agencies and sub-agencies to complete and prepare this questionnaire will be a good basis for Georgia to receive specific, tangible results on the path of our country's European integration,” the Minister said.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, has expressed hope that the European Union would make a “historic and correct” decision and would grant the Associated Trio countries (Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova) the status of membership candidates.
