"Georgia has implemented 3 out of 12 recommendations, now every minute counts" - EU commissioner
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Georgia and EU recommendations
Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver Varhei stated that the Georgian government has implemented only three out of 12 recommendations of the European Council and stressed that every minute is important now, for in October the European Commission will present its final conclusion on the progress of the country and then decide whether to give Georgia candidate status.
“I think it is quite clear what are the conditions under which Georgia can become a candidate country. Last year the European Council put forward very clear conditions. I hope Georgia will fulfill them so that we can give a positive response to them.
We see that the government has managed to fulfill three of the 12 priorities. Now, of course, every minute counts, because the report will be ready in October. So I hope that Georgia will be able to do it. We see that the Georgian people want to join the European Union. So I hope that the government will be able to fulfill the conditions so that we can take the next step,” Varhei said.
He explained that the recommendations on gender equality and violence against women, reviewing the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, and on transparency of the process of appointing the Public Defender (Ombudsman) had been satisfied.
Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze said that the “three out of 12” assessment is manipulation. Kobakhidze believes that, according to this logic, it will turn out that Ukraine has fulfilled only two points out of seven and “shown indifference in general”.
Georgia applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, after which the government received a questionnaire from the European Commission.
The ruling Georgian Dream party handed the completed questionnaire to Brussels in May.
On June 17, 2022, the European Commission prepared an opinion on granting candidate status to Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. Ukraine and Moldova were granted this status and had to fulfill certain obligations. And Georgia was ordered to first implement the 12-point recommendation plan, and only then it will have a chance to get the candidate status.
On June 22, 2023, it became known that Georgia had fully implemented three of the twelve recommendations.
As for Moldova and Ukraine, whose progress was also assessed alongside Georgia, Moldova had at that point fully implemented three of the nine priorities, and Ukraine had fully implemented two of the seven priorities. All this was outlined in the interim oral report, which is an important signal to countries and indicates which areas they should pay particular attention to before the European Commission presents its enlargement package and recommendations in October.
