EU Ambassador: bloc’s door has “never been so wide open” for aspiring countries
In his remarks, the diplomat noted that Georgia, as well as other countries of the region involved in the bloc’s enlargement, could use the experience of the Western Balkan countries from the latter’s long integration process. Photo: EU Delegation to Georgia
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Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Monday said the door of the European Union had “never been so wide open”, adding it was up to each aspiring member country to “make the most of this opportunity to move forward”.
In his remarks, the diplomat noted that Georgia, as well as other countries of the region involved in the bloc’s enlargement, could use the experience of the Western Balkan countries from the latter’s long integration process.
“As the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, mentioned in her speech about the 2023 enlargement package, enlargement is a vital policy for the European Union”, Herczynski said.
I am very glad that the Parliament of Georgia is leading this process and is ready to rely on the experience of other countries that are currently going through the same process. For example, the Western Balkans, which started this process much earlier, show that EU enlargement is still relevant”, he added.
“Georgia, as well as other countries of the region involved in the enlargement process, can really learn [from] and use the experience of the Western Balkans”, he continued.
The EU diplomat also stressed the “complete public consensus” in Georgia that the country should become a member of the EU.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday expressed the legislative body’s “readiness” to promote building of “bridges of cooperation” between the Western Balkans and the Eastern Neighbourhood of the European Union.
The Georgian Government’s new state programme For Building the European State, published by the Parliament on Friday, says the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration and further success in this regard, remain a key foreign policy objective under the Constitution of Georgia.
The activities carried out by the Georgian Government on the European Union integration path, as well as the use of new opportunities for joining the bloc, serve “the main ambitious goal” to achieve “significant progress” in becoming a member of the EU, the Government’s new state programme says.
Paweł Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Monday said Georgia had an “advantage” over countries of the Western Balkans in the process of its integration into the bloc.
Lavdrim Krrashi, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Albanian Parliament, on Monday said Georgia “in some aspects” was “much ahead” compared with other European Union membership candidate countries.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Monday said the path towards the country’s European Union membership was “neither quick nor easy”.
Ilia Darchiashvili, the candidate for the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, on Wednesday told the Parliament receiving the European Union membership candidate status in December has been a “great and well-deserved” victory for the country.
Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, on Tuesday highlighted a “pivotal” role non-governmental organisations played in “ensuring the values” he said were shared between the EU and Georgia, in his message over World NGO Day.