Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative, on Friday highlighted his “timely exchange” with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, “good meeting” with the country’s President Salome Zourabichvili, and an “important, useful” dialogue with domestic civil society groups in Tbilisi, in his social media posts. 

Borrell, who arrived in his first official visit to the country ahead of the bloc’s forthcoming decision whether to grant Georgia its membership candidate status later this year, said he had delivered “three main messages” in his meeting with the country’s PM. 

He noted the messages included that “Georgia belongs to the European family” and that time  “must be used wisely now” to advance reforms, that the bloc welcomed Tbilisi’s support of Ukraine and reaffirmed its “unwavering support” to Georgia‘s territorial integrity. Borrell claimed he had discussed Georgia’s EU integration and regional security situation on the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine at a meeting with Zourabichvili, saying  “Georgia is our strong partner. We support strong institutions working together on progress towards its EU future”. 

Following  the meeting  with the representatives of civil society organizations, Borrell said he was “Impressed” by their work, and stressed ensuring involvement of CSOs in the decision-making processes “at all levels” was “key”.