Georgian Dream Denies Halt in EU Accession Process
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, November 1, 2024
The ruling party, Georgian Dream, has publicly denied any halt in Georgia's EU accession process, following the European Commission's recent report stating that the process has effectively been suspended. Parliament Chairman Shalva Papuashvili stated that the country is "progressing on the path of EU integration," emphasizing the party's positive evaluation of the report.
Papuashvili asserted that Georgia's progress is comparable to that of Ukraine and Moldova, even claiming that Georgia leads among these countries in key areas. He emphasized that the disagreement between Georgia and the EU over certain laws is not new and stated that Georgian society has expressed its stance on these issues through election results. He added, "We will continue to discuss these issues with the European Union, taking into account the position of Georgian citizens."
Maka Bochorishvili, chair of the European Integration Committee, also dismissed claims. She emphasized that discussions about terminating Georgia's EU ambitions are unfounded. However, she did not address the nine recommendations provided in 2023 that remain unimplemented, which the EU has cited as a reason for the suspension of the accession process.
"We will carefully study each recommendation, make a deep analysis of them, and incorporate them into our ongoing efforts to implement the action plan for association with the European Union," Bochorishvili stated.
Meanwhile, Dutch Ambassador to Georgia Meline Arakeliani responded critically to comments from Nikoloz Samkharadze, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, who suggested that the report confirmed Georgia's progress.
"No Mr. Samkharadze, that is not the case. Georgia is NOT progressing on its EU path as long as there is backsliding in the area of democracy and fundamental rights. Georgia's EU accession process is stopped because of this," Arakeliani countered.
