Chancellor of Austria Expresses Support for Georgia in European Integration Process
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer spoke about Georgia's European integration at a press conference held with Irakli Gharibashvili within the framework of his visit to Tbilisi.
According to Nehammer, the implementation of the recommendations issued by the European Union is not easy, but it is worth increasing efforts.
"We talked a lot about what needs to be done to be successful in this direction. Mr. Prime Minister talked about what was done to fulfill the recommendations issued by the European Commission, and it is clear to us that it is not always easy to do this, but it is really worth moving in this direction.
It is worth strengthening efforts, making more investments in this direction, in the literal sense of the word, because this process will bring a lot of changes from the internal political point of view, including for the citizens of Georgia.
Politically, for people who have political responsibilities, this is always a very big challenge. I offered Mr. Prime Minister support from our side in all directions, in whatever direction it is needed," said Nehamer.
Also, according to the Chancellor, the starting conditions for all candidate countries of the European Union should be the same. Nehammer also promised Austria's support for Georgia in the European integration process.
"This process makes it clear that there should be the same starting conditions for all candidate countries. There shouldn't be any short-cut way to achieve the goal.
Recently, there has been a discussion on this topic within the European Union, what successes were there in the case of the three candidate countries, and when we talk about Austria's support, in this case, I once again emphasize Austria's readiness, including know-how, to support you. We were in a similar situation when we had the status of EU membership and we know what needs to be done in this direction," said Karl Nehammer.
Karl Nehnammer also spoke about the Ukraine war, Georgia's 'special' geopolitical situation, and Russian aggression.
According to him, the Russian military is stationed on the territories of Georgia and this automatically brings the reality that the policy implemented by Georgia should be expressed in a different reality.
"Of course, we talked about the topic that worries and scares us all for almost a year now, we are talking about the war in Ukraine. People are in dire straits, the war is getting more and more severe and the suffering of people is increasing. Georgia is really in a special situation, the Prime Minister also drew attention to this. The ambassador of Georgia in Austria always points to the special geopolitical situation of Georgia.
Part of Georgia's territory is occupied, and the Russian military is stationed on the territory of your country, and this automatically, by itself, brings the reality that the policy implemented by Georgia must be expressed in a different reality. That is why I can say that I am glad that Georgia supported all the financial sanctions imposed by the European Union, it is really not easy, because the pressure on Georgia is very high.
A very large flow of Georgian refugees came from the Russian Federation and for the Georgian government along with everything, this is also a very big challenge, especially in such a difficult period. However, at the same time, I would like to give you a guarantee from my side and say that Georgia is going in the right direction and I promise to help you on the path of Georgia's European integration," said the Chancellor.
