According to an interim report of the European Commission, Georgia has fully complied with three of the twelve recommendations for obtaining EU candidacy.
The report was presented to the EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Stockholm on 22 June. On June 21, the European Commission submitted a report to the EU ambassadors in Brussels.
Progress in the report is classified by four grades: “full”, “partial”, “limited” and “no progress”.
The three EU recommendations fulfilled by Georgia are:
consolidating efforts to strengthen gender equality and combat violence against women;
consideration by local courts of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights;
appointing an independent person as a new public defender (ombudsman) and ensuring the institutional independence of the ombudsman’s office.
Seven recommendations partially implemented:
political depolarization;
judicial reform;
independence and effective accountability of state institutions;
fight against corruption;
combating organized crime;
strengthening the protection of the human rights of vulnerable groups;
involvement of civil society in the decision-making process.
“Limited progress” was made on “deoligarchization” and “no progress” on “media pluralism”.
Along with Georgia, the progress of Moldova and Ukraine was also assessed. Moldova had to fulfill nine recommendations, of which it completedthree (democratic reforms, dialogue with civil society and protection of human rights). As for Ukraine, it has so far fully implemented two of the seven recommendations (judicial reform and media legislation).
Ukraine must also implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding legislation on deoligarchization and national minorities and initiate the selection procedure for the Constitutional Court.
The Interim Oral Report sends an important signal to countries and indicates which areas the country should pay special attention to before the European Commission presents its package of extensions and recommendations in October.
Comments
At a press conference following the Commission’s interim report, Sweden’s European Affairs Minister Jessica Rosvall said that Georgia “has made some progress” in terms of implementing the recommendations, but “still has some work to do.”
According to Rosvall, the EU should send a joint message to Georgia that it needs reforms.
“Of course, some progress has been made, but Georgia still has some work to do, and we need to send a general signal to Georgia that it needs future reforms.”
European Commissioner for European Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy Oliver Varhey said at a press conference in Stockholm that if someone wants to join the EU, “now is the right moment to seize” the opportunity.
He also stressed that in order to enter the EU, it is necessary to carry out reforms:
“I was lucky enough to meet Prime Minister [Garibashvili] in Brussels last week and it was a message – you know what it takes, so do it! Do it because this is a unique opportunity, everyone should take full advantage of it. We are ready to help you achieve this goal, but everyone must meet the criteria. Therefore, my recommendation to the [Georgian] government is to speed up work in all areas so that we can get a report on Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova in October”.
On June 17, 2022, the European Commission prepared an opinion on granting Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership. Ukraine and Moldova will receive the status of an EU candidate and will be required to fulfill certain obligations, while Georgia will first have to fulfill twelve recommendations.
