Papuashvili Discusses Georgia’s EU Bid in Brussels
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, on his official trip to Brussels, met today with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, as well as MEPs Iratxe García Pérez and Marina Kaljurand.
Summarizing the meetings, Speaker Papuashvili said they received assurances that the EU will speed up bureaucratic procedures to draft Georgia’s application questionnaire. He said the application was already delivered to the relevant departments.
“If the procedures lasted for months in other cases, now, most likely, they will be completed in a few weeks.”
Georgia Belongs to European Family, Says President Metsola
President Roberta Metsola tweeted after the meeting that the European Parliament acknowledges Georgia’s application for EU membership.
She asserted Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova “belong to European family.”
But President Metsola also said that “rule of law, independent judiciary [and] real parliamentary dialogue are essential for democracy.”
On his part, Speaker Papuashvili hailed President Metsola as “a real supporter that backs Georgia’s return to the European family.”
The Georgian Speaker added that “concrete steps of cooperation” between the Georgian and European Parliaments will be taken in the near future.
Other Meetings
In a meeting with Commissioner Reynders, the sides discussed Georgia’s EU membership bid and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, said the Georgian Parliamentary press service.
The Georgian Speaker and EU official also touched upon reforms implemented to approximate Georgia’s laws to EU legislation and talked about the importance of the rule of law, human rights, and judicial reform.
Speaker Papuashvili further stressed the importance of the European Commission’s opinion on Georgia’s EU membership application, as per the same report.
Ukraine and Georgia’s EU membership perspective loomed large in Speaker Papuashvili’s meeting with Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) MEPs, Pérez and Kaljurand.
The S&D “are ready to help fulfill the European aspirations of Georgia’s people, but we expect progress on democratic reforms and rule of law,” S&D President Pérez tweeted after the meeting.
The Georgian delegation is visiting the Belgian capital between March 29 and April 1. It includes Vice-Speaker Levan Ioseliani, as well as, European Integration Committee Chair and Deputy Chair – Maka Bochorishvili and Levan Karumidze, respectively.
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