EU Ambassador: Georgia has “advantage” in integration process compared to aspiring members
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. Photo: EU in Georgia press office
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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.
In comments at the Georgia-Western Balkans Inter-Parliamentary Conference on European Integration, Herczyński said the latter states were “moving forward because of their diligent reforms and careful implementation of the European Commission's recommendations”.
At the same time, Georgia has an advantage compared to [them]. The Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area deal [signed between Georgia and the EU in 2014] already included a comprehensive reform process covering most areas”, he said.
Herczyński added Georgia had a “very strong” public administration, an element he said was “still under development in most countries” of the Western Balkans.
This is really an advantage when it comes to alignment with the EU, because Georgia will be able to approve and implement reforms”, he said.
The Ambassador added the country had already been moving towards compliance with technical norms and standards of the bloc when it applied for EU membership in March 2022, while stabilisation and association agreements signed with the countries of the Western Balkans were “not so far-reaching”.
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”.
Irakli Chikovani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and the candidate for the position of the Defence Minister, on Monday said European integration was “creating the best conditions for the peaceful development and reunification” of the country.
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.
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.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the candidate for the position of the Prime Minister of Georgia, on Wednesday said the Government’s “main priority” was the country’s full integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures, as outlined in the Georgian constitution.
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.
Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union, on Wednesday said Georgia’s domestic business environment would “only improve” as the country edged closer to EU membership.