Austrian chancellor vows “specific support” for Georgia if challenges addressed

I gave an unequivocal guarantee to Georgia that in case of implementation of specific recommendations, Georgia will receive specific support from our side. For us, dialogue and balanced policy making are very important in order to care more for peace in Europe, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said after a meeting  with Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili on Friday in Vienna.

He stated that Georgia should not turn a blind eye to challenges as it would be “unproductive”” and would damage the state interests.

Nehammer said that Georgia and Austria had potential to further intensify relations.

“We are trading partners. Naturally, there is potential for further deepening of our relations. In addition, we are working to deepen economic relations. There is great potential in this direction. We need legal security considering continuous economic investments. The Prime Minister gave us a guarantee that Georgia will do everything to ensure that these types of guarantees are ensured,” Nehammer said.

He suggested that Georgia went through a complicated path to come closer to the EU  and that “It did not happen by itself.”

He stated that “each step should be taken consistently” on the path of Georgia’s EU integration and that the process should be supported and encouraged by the bloc.

Georgia, which was granted European perspective last month, is now expecting the decision on the candidate status by the European Council in December of this year.

Georgia was promised to receive the status if the country addressed the priorities set by the European Commission which included moves for depolarization, de-oligarchization, judiciary reforms and others.