EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell Completes His Diplomatic Mission
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, July 21, 2022
EU Ambassador to Georgia H.E. Carl Hartzell, who is completing his mission in Georgia, shared a farewell video on Wednesday, expressing gratitude to the host country and its people and expressing hope the country will use its chance to become a member of the EU and noting ‘Georgia will always be a part of us’.
“After four unforgettable years in Georgia, the time has come for us to leave. Thanks for having invited us to be a part of Georgia. Georgia will always be a part of us,” said the Ambassador, standing in central Tbilisi with his wife, Mrs. Mette Hartzell.
Hartzell, who was actively engaged to help Georgian political forces to resolve political standoffs while in office, described Georgia as an ‘amazing, unique country, standing on the shoulders of your ancestors who fought for this country, its traditions, culture, language and heritage’.
“Last month the European Union recognised Georgia’s European perspective, Georgia’s belonging to the family of European nations. Of course, you already knew that Georgia was a European country and so did I and many other friends of Georgia. But still the significance of this formal recognition of Georgia as a potential future member of the European Union cannot be underestimated.”
He stated that by the move the EU recognized Georgia as its potential member.
“Although there are many struggles ahead, we are proud to witness this historic moment and we believe that Georgia will successfully use the opportunities created by this moment,” Hartzell said.
Hartzell stated that Georgia is capable of using the opportunity not only because Georgians dislike stepping back, ‘but also because Georgia rests on a European foundation’.
“You have even been part of defining what today are called European values and you have it in you to contribute to making Europe even stronger. The energy and spirit you have here is admirable. And when the day comes that all this energy is projected in the same direction, you simply will be unstoppable,” Hartzell concluded.
Ambassador of the European Union in Georgia, Carl Hartzell, bids farewell to the population in a video address and thanks them for "becoming a part of Georgia" during this period. The video appeal is distributed on the Facebook page of the EU Representation in Georgia.
The EU delegation in Georgia has been headed by Ambassador Hartzell since September 2018, his 4-year term of office expires in September of this year.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell, nominated Pawel Herczynski to the position of Head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia.
Herczynskii is the Head of Directorate for Common Security and Defense Policy and Crisis Response of the EU External Action Service. Before that, he held the position of Polish ambassador to the Committee on Politics and Security.
He will be appointed after the respective official agreement received from the host country.
