Georgian President makes live address with Macron after “useful” talk on country’s EU candidacy

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday made an online live address with French President Emmanuel Macron from Paris, as she said after a “very useful” conversation on her country’s European Union membership candidate status, ahead of the bloc’s forthcoming decision later this year. 

Macron has assessed his discussion with Zourabichvili at his office as “very pleasant”, and stressed the conversation concerned Georgia’s EU candidacy and the general situation in the South Caucasus region. 

“We talked about Georgia, the EU candidacy, as well as the region. I think that the future of the Georgian people is in Europe.I want to wish you success and I will continue to support Mrs. President on this path, which is so important for you and for us,” Macron said.

The video came following the ruling Georgian Dream party’s announcement last week about an impeachment procedure against Zourabichvili for her EU trip for “violating the country’s constitution” through visiting foreign states without the Government’s consent. 

The opposition and the President’s office claim the move aimed at hampering the country’s EU integration and “limiting” Zourabichvili’s activities, amid the Government’s allegations to the President that she had “posed threats” to the country’s European future by her recent comments that the authorities had been engaged in “demonizing” the West and were fulfilling the EU candidacy conditions “only formally”. 

While in Europe Zourabichvili, who claims her visits aim to support Georgia’s EU candidacy, has already met with his German counterpart and the President of the European Council Charles Michel, with the latter saying “further reforms are needed: justice, depolarisation and deoligarchisation are key priorities”.