"Georgia obtaining EU candidate status to become a serious political signal" - MEP David McAllister
Georgia’s EU candidate status
Granting EU candidate status to Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova will send an important political signal, David McAllister, vice president of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Union, and chairman of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, tweeted.
“The EPP believes that granting candidate status is an important political signal at a time when the security of an entire region is at stake,” McAllister writes.
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It should be noted that the EPP partner parties from Georgia are the United National Movement and European Georgia.
The EPP issued a statement last week saying that informal governance in Georgia has undermined democratic institutions.
In their opinion, democratic processes in Georgia have slowed down in recent years. Informal oligarchic rule of the country has led to an unstoppable erosion of democratic institutions, including an independent judiciary, free media, and free and fair elections.
The EPP also mentioned the arrest of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and director of the Mtavari TV channel Nika Gvaramia. According to them, the government’s use of the judiciary as a tool against political opponents is seriously damaging Georgia’s European integration process.
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are waiting for the Eu candidate status. All three countries applied for EU membership at the same time. This process was accelerated by the war in Ukraine. Georgia applied for EU membership on 3 March.
The chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party says that Georgia is ahead of Ukraine and Moldova in all aspects.