Opposition Reacts to EU Enlargement Plan Announced by Charles Michel
Opposition politicians have reacted to the announcement made by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia, who said the European Union should be ready to accept new members by 2030, and the future members should be prepared, too.
The Chairman of the United National Movement, Levan Khabeishvili, says that the European Union “close as never before.” He called the EUCO President’s statement “another clear confirmation that the people of Georgia will be granted the status of EU candidate” and added, “the hints coming from the West directly indicate one thing – we will get the status of a candidate, and the Russian party must be removed by the Georgian people.”
The leader of “Strategy Agmashenebeli” Giorgi Vashadze called the statement “unprecedented” and said it proves that Georgia has its place in the EU. Vashadze said to become a full member, the country must “change the government” and “implement all necessary reforms.”
“Without a change of government, we will remain behind this wave of enlargement, and Georgia will fall under the influence of Russia once and for all,” said “Lelo” MP Salome Samadashvili, who served as Georgia’s ambassador to the EU in 2005-2011. Samadashvili said this would be “the last wave of the EU enlargement” and it was the “last chance” for Georgia to get in.
Roman Gotsiridze, the MP of “Euro-optimists”, said that the “Georgian Dream” is an obstacle on the path of the European Union, because it ignores the recommendations, as well as its foreign and domestic policies. “Due to the current geopolitical situation, it is not excluded that Georgia will receive the status. It does not depend on the merits of this or that government. This is the future strategic interest of the country and it does not matter who will be in power and who will try to score these points. It is clear that “Georgian Dream” will not get these points, because it is against the European path of the country, it’s an enemy of Ukraine and an ally of Russia, everyone knows everything very well,” he said.
Officials and politicians from the ruling party have not commented on European Council President’s statement yet.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
