Georgia’s former top officials send letter to EU, request candidacy

Georgia former top officials until 2016, including the country’s fourth President Giorgi Margvelashvili, have sent a letter to EU officials and the leaders of member states, requesting the candidate status on June 24.

Margvelashvili handed the letter to EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell on Wednesday.

“The content of the letter is as follows – we agree with the demands made by the European Commission, but due to the complexity of the situation and the challenges in the region, the trio – Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova – should not be split,” Margvelashvili said, noting they addressed the EU to grant the candidate status with conditions and not on the contrary as it is planned.

The European Commission recommended the European Council last week to grant Ukraine and Moldova European perspective and candidate status, while Georgia must first meet several criteria for candidacy.

Margvelashvili stated that the current authorities refused to sign the letter.

The ruling Georgian Dream party head Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the letter contained “false information.”

“The letter said that the country is in a terrible situation, but we should still be given the status of a candidate. This shows their falsity. The letter says – marry my ugly girl, when the girl, actually, is not ugly. That is why we could not sign it,” Kobakhidze said.

The European Council is scheduled to announce its decision over candidate status for Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova this week.