Borrell: Georgia needs to do “some work” to join the EU
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The door to the EU is open for Georgia, but the country still needs to do “some work” to join the union. This was stated by the head of the European Union’s foreign policy service, Josep Borrell, in Tbilisi.
“I want this important point to be made clear – the door of the European Union is open to Georgia, and the EU is committed to supporting Georgia on its path to membership in the European Union. The door is open and we want to support you along the way. But I also want to say that applying to the European Union is a serious commitment,” he said (quote according to TASS).
Borrell noted that candidate status “is not something that is awarded to some countries, it must be earned through serious reforms and compliance with EU values.” “And, to be frank, [Грузии] Some work still needs to be done,” the diplomat noted.
In the fall of 2022, EU Ambassador to Georgia Pavel Gerchinsky said that EU member countries would make a decision on granting Georgia the status of a candidate member of the bloc by the end of 2023. He noted that the EU was monitoring the implementation of 12 recommendations that are necessary to obtain the status . Georgia applied to join the union on March 3 last year.
On September 7, Borrell’s two-day visit to Georgia began. This is the first trip of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the country. During the visit, meetings are planned with President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and others.
Earlier, Borrell in an interview with Civil stated, that the EU has allocated 62 million euros for Georgia through the European Peace Fund (EPF) to strengthen defense. Borrell specified that the delivered equipment “will be vital to quickly respond to crises and save lives.”
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