Georgia to be granted EU candidate status automatically when priorities met – Borrell

Georgians have a roadmap, a schedule, and since the priorities are addressed, the country will be automatically granted the EU candidate status, EU High Representative Joseph Borrell said on Thursday.

He suggested that giving Georgia European perspective was a “step forward” and that the country now needed to work on meeting the criteria to receive the candidate status like Ukraine and Moldova.

The European Council is scheduled on June 24 to make a final decision on the candidate status for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, in the wake of the European Commission recommendation to the Council earlier this month to grant Ukraine and Moldova European perspective and candidate status, while Georgia only European perspective, which meant that the latter must first address several issues, including in the country’s judiciary and for de-oligarchization.

The European Council is expected to act in accordance with the recommendation.