Charles Michel visits Georgia following political agreement mediated by US and EU

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Wednesday, April 21

The mediation process of the agreement between the government and the opposition began on March 1, 2021, during the first visit of Charles Michel.

Charles Michel met with parliament members from the ruling party and the opposition who signed the political agreement.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel arrived in Georgia after the Georgian opposition and authorities signed the EU-proposed agreement. Michel expressed his satisfaction with his stay in Tbilisi and noted that the visit was especially fruitful this time. According to Michel, the agreement between the parties is the beginning of a new phase and requires a lot of work.

"The political crisis is coming to an end and political involvement has already become sustainable. Today is a new beginning, which requires a lot of work that Georgia has to go through in terms of EU integration," said Michel after a face-to-face meeting with the President of Georgia. He said the process of reaching an agreement was not easy, although more work is starting today. He also expressed confidence that equal forces would be represented in the Parliament of Georgia and that decisions would be made with inclusive involvement:

Michel also held meetings with the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament and a few opposition bloc representatives.

After his meeting with PM Irakli Garibashvili, Michel said that ‘it is not time for anyone to sleep on laurel leaves’, and added that ‘this is the moment to take up the challenging reforms in the Parliament and to work towards them’.

“These reforms are what Georgia needs. They will ensure your citizens' demands are better met, and what will also open up the path to deeper cooperation between Georgia and the EU.”

According to PM Gharibashvili, there will be no obstacles for the implementation of the document from the Georgian Dream’s side.

Michel emphasized that the EU is Georgia's ‘strongest partner’ and donor with more than 200 ongoing projects and noted that the EU supports Georgia’s reforms ‘to consolidate democracy and the rule of law’.

“Our readiness, our support will continue in the future, of course, after we see the strengthening and deepening of the reforms. All of this is very important, especially against the background of a difficult regional situation,” stated Michel, who also spoke about the situation along Ukraine's borders, stressing that the EU strongly supports Georgia's territorial integrity. The European Council also stressed out the goal of strengthening the EU Association Agreement with Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, welcoming the idea of bringing together the leaders of the three countries to discuss the agreement.

The visit of the President of the European Council to Georgia will end today.