EU Commission head: we want Georgia to advance, succeed on its EU path

The European Union remains committed to Georgia’s security and territorial integrity. We also want Georgia to advance and succeed on its EU path. Reform efforts must be sustained. The European Commission is ready to support Georgia in this process, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, tweeted following her meeting with Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, on Thursday, on the sidelines of the first summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Prague, hosted by the EU.

At the meeting, the PM spoke about the “historic decision” on granting the European perspective to Georgia in June, also pointing out that his government “is doing its utmost” to take the next step toward EU membership and receive the EU candidate status [next year], said the government administration. 

“To that end, Georgia has set out to implement without delay the 12 priorities identified by the European Commission. The PM emphasized that this inclusive process enables every branch of government, alongside the opposition parties and civil society, to become fully engaged in the implementation of the priorities, with working groups put together to accomplish this task”, said the government press office. 

The officials also discussed Russian aggression in Ukraine and its impact on Georgia, the region, and the world in general, as well as Georgia’s transit and economic potential. 

Within the summit Garibashvili and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas were offered to co-chair the thematic discussion Peace and Security in the European Continent. 

“The Georgian Prime Minister, together with his Estonian counterpart, led the discussion attended by the leaders of the European Political Community’s countries.The discussion focused on the current geopolitical situation and the ongoing military action in Ukraine. Challenges threatening global security were also discussed”, said the government press office. 

The discussion was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic of Turkey  Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović, and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel.