European Commission's Decision on Georgia ‘Historic’, PM Says
By Khatia Bzhalava
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday echoed European Commission’s opinion on Georgia’s candidacy bid, assessing it as a ‘historic decision’ as it recognizes the European perspective for the country. On June 17, the European Commission recommended the Council to give Georgia a ‘European perspective’, with the country first required to meet conditions before reaching candidate status. The Commission however recommended granting EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.
As the PM stated at yesterday’s government meeting, as soon as the Council approves these recommendations, the government will immediately start working with Brussels. The PM also stated that most of the recommendations were already on the government’s agenda, adding that “there are other issues we will clarify with Brussels, work on them and get a candidate status.”
“As the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, Europe has opened its doors to Georgia - it is truly a historic decision”, the Government head stressed.
He also noted the granting of the candidate status to Moldova and Ukraine, pointing out Ukraine’s position of being amid a “hardest war” and Moldova’s “very difficult situation” in bordering the former.
“At the same time, they [Ukraine and Moldova] are being asked to carry out a number of reforms. In our case, on the contrary, we must first fulfill all the conditions that have been made, implement these reforms, implement priorities, and of course, after this Georgia will be granted the candidate status”, the Prime Minister said.
Garibashvili also stressed that Ukraine was given candidate status because it is at war, claiming that this fact has been publicly confirmed by European leaders. He also highlighted that Moldova was one of the first countries to be affected by the conflict as it is bordering Ukraine. According to him, due to the major flow of refugees, economic risks have increased in Moldova.
“I truly do not envy either Ukraine or Moldova. I wish to congratulate our friendly Ukrainian and Moldovan people on this success. I want to wish them peace and unification of the country,” Garibashvili said.
