President Zurabishvili Visits Brussels

President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili is currently on a working visit to Brussels. During her visit, she has met with Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, and Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament. On May 31, President Zurabishvili addressed the European Parliament.

Meeting with the President of the European Council

During the meeting on May 30, Salome Zurabishvili and Charles Michel discussed Georgia’s future in Europe, EU’s 12 recommendations, and the challenges associated with implementing reforms. President Michel expressed a positive assessment of the President of Georgia’s role in advancing Georgia’s path towards Europe and overcoming political divisions.

President Zurabishvili emphasized the significance of granting to Georgia the EU candidate status. She reiterated the resolute determination of the Georgian people to join the European Union.

According to the Administration of Georgia’s President, Salome Zurabishvili extended an invitation to Charles Michel to visit Georgia. The President of the European Council expressed his willingness to visit in the near future.

The European Council press release reads that the Presidents discussed Georgia’s European future. President Michel noted to the important decision taken by the European Council in June 2022 to grant Georgia a European perspective. He also noted that following the Enlargement package” report on the implementation of 12 priorities, he intends to put the question of the next steps on the agenda of the European Council in the last quarter of 2023.

According to the EU side the Presidents discussed the remaining challenges in Georgia’s implementation of outstanding reforms and the twelve priorities. President Michel stressed that more progress was needed on issues relating to justice reform, media freedoms, civil society, de-oligarchization and depolarization.

It was noted that for a number of the in-depth structural reforms, reinforced majority support was required in the Parliament, which accentuates the necessity of inclusiveness and cross-party cooperation.

Meeting with the President of the European Commission

According to the Administration of the President of Georgia, on May 30, during the meeting with the President of the European Commission in Brussels, the President of Georgia reiterated the desire of the Georgian people to become part of the larger European family and emphasized the significance of granting EU candidate status to Georgian society.

The President of the European Commission expressed her appreciation for Georgia’s unwavering commitment to the European perspective and lauded the transparent expression of the Georgian people’s desire to join the European family. Both presidents agreed to maintain close communication during this critical period.

Meeting with the President of the European Parliament

On May 31, the president of Georgia met with Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament. Metsola shared a video of her speech on Twitter, expressing support for Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union and emphasized the importance of creating the right conditions for Georgia to achieve an EU future for its citizens.

Roberta Metsola reiterated the European Parliament’s commitment to standing by Georgia and providing support in its journey to become an integral part of the European Union. She stressed: “We need to work more and closer together towards granting EU candidate status to Georgia, ensuring that the Georgian people do not miss a historic opportunity. For this, we need to see tangible movement on a number of milestones,” adding that EU offers all the necessary assistance for this transformative journey, “but it is for Georgia to walk that path and to choose its own future”. Metsola concluded by urging continued cooperation to protect the rights of European peoples and secure the future of societies.

Also read:

• 29/05/2023 – “Georgian Dream” Accuses President of Bias in Favor of “Radical” Opposition
• 13/04/2023 – President Cancels Visit to Strasbourg where she was Due to Address European Parliament

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