‘‘I am awaiting the November 8 decision with great optimism, and ultimately the final decision in December. I don’t want to say anything more on that’’, said the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili during his work visit to Brussels. He took part in the Global Gateway Forum organized by the European Commission.
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‘‘Unfortunately, it must be said that there were too many impeding circumstances, sabotages, so to speak, too many artificial barriers created by the opposition.
But at the end of the day, I don't want to jump to conclusions or make premature announcements, but my expectation is the following: considering the work we put in, the geopolitical situation, the global state of affairs, and the precedents that have been set – Moldova has granted a status last year, as well as Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which were and still are lagging behind Georgia in many respects, I am awaiting the November 8 decision with great optimism, and ultimately the final decision in December’’, stated the Prime Minister.
Speaking with the media, the head of the government reiterated that during his first term as prime minister, opposition members went around begging their European colleagues not to grant Georgia a visa-free policy.
‘‘As we were working on the visa-free regime during my first term as prime minister, you remember that Dato Bakradze, with Kandelaki and other opposition members also around, were going around begging our European colleagues not to grant us a visa-free policy. This a pure fact and it is of course very disappointing. Through our efforts, we are dispelling the constant diatribe and disinformation that flows abundantly from the opposition, and our true friends know where the truth lies, I would say. I want to reassure everyone that despite internal and external enemies, and despite so much sabotage, our country will still receive the status,’’ said Gharibashvili, adding that the country getting the candidate status will be the merit of the government along with the Georgian people.
The Prime Minister pointed out the newly published data, according to which, he said, Georgia ranks first in the ratings of the rule of law among the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia:
‘‘We are ahead of the active EU and NATO member states. This serves as a good response to the disinformation and anti-national campaign, which long-proclaimed that there is no independent court in our country and that there are challenges with the rule of law.
It will likely become known in November whether the European Commission will issue a recommendation on granting Georgia the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
Last year, the European Union granted Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates for EU membership, and Georgia the ‘‘European perspective’’, and set 12 preconditions for obtaining the candidate status. In the report prepared in response to Georgia’s application, among the priorities are the ending of political polarization, judicial reform, de-oligarchization, strengthening the fight against organized crime, ensuring media freedom, and others.
