“Recommendations are the path to candidate status” – Irakli Garibashvili meets with Olaf Scholz

JAMnews

Tbilisi

Garibashvili meets with Scholz

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as part of his working visit. Scholz reportedly urged Garibashvili to take the necessary steps to implement reforms.

According to the administration of the Georgian government, at the meeting, Garibashvili informed Scholz about “significant progress in the implementation of 12 recommendations”, and said that Georgia was expecting the EU candidate status.

No press conference was held.

German government statement

Scholz and Garibashvili talked about the prospects for deepening the relations between the two countries, security issues, European politics and Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine, according to the post-meeting press release.

“The Federal Chancellor stressed that Germany will continue to support Georgia on its path to the European Union and called on the Georgian government to take the necessary steps to carry out reforms. The recommendations of the European Commission point the way to candidate status. He urged the Georgian government to take the necessary measures in a timely manner and with maximum efforts in the coming weeks.

Regarding the issue of security, the Federal Chancellor stressed that Germany continued to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within the internationally recognized borders,” the German government said in a statement.

Georgian government statement

“At the meeting, Irakli Garibashvili informed Olaf Scholz about the steps taken by Georgia on the path to European integration, the reforms carried out and the important progress in implementing the 12 recommendations of the European Commission. The Prime Minister also spoke about the importance of granting Georgia the status of a member state of the European Union and noted that Georgia is waiting for candidate status at the end of the year.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister also noted that both political and practical support of the member countries at the next stage of the country’s accession to the European Union is critically important for Georgia,” writes the administration of the Georgian government.

Garibashvili also thanked Scholz for “the federal chancellor always openly supporting the European integration of Georgia.”