Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, on a two-day trip to Brussels, met High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi.
PM Garibashvili and High Representative Borrell discussed Georgia’s EU membership bid, as well as cooperation between Tbilisi and Brussels and the implementation of the Association Agreement, the Georgian Government’s press service reported.
The two officials also discussed the security environment in the region amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The High Representative told the Georgian PM that the EU is determined to further deepen relations with Georgia to bring the country closer to the 27 member-bloc, the European External Action Service reported.
“In this context, he underlined the importance of cross-party cooperation and unity among the domestic political forces, which is key to making concrete and rapid progress on crucial reform priorities in strengthening the democracy in Georgia,” the EEAS Press Team said.
It added that the top diplomat pledged the EU’s readiness to assist Georgia “in tackling the domestic political polarisation; getting an inclusive and credible judicial reform agenda on track; and implementing the agreed constitutional reforms in this regard.”
The said efforts are even more important in view of Georgia’s EU membership bid, the press release said.
Discussed with @GharibashviliGe the challenges posed by Russian invasion of Ukraine and EU-Georgia agenda: we are keen to work together on joint European future & assist in advancing the needed reforms, especially judiciary.
Key to overcome polarization & unite political forces https://t.co/pQhX8i0poO pic.twitter.com/GMU2u4Qbzv
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) May 18, 2022
Also on May 18, PM Garibashvili and Commissioner Várhelyi discussed the next steps in Georgia’s EU membership bid, including the European Commission’s forthcoming opinion on the application, the Georgian Government said.
The Georgian PM stressed the importance of EU bodies’ support to Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova — the Associated Trio — during their application process, per the same report.
The Commissioner on his part said after the meeting that the “EU continues to provide support to help Georgia deal with the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
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