EU Ambassador Herczynski on Georgia’s 2024 Elections, Nine Steps, Reforms, EaP Index

On January 26, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia Paweł Herczyński participated in the celebration of the International Customs Day organized by the Ministry of Finance. After the event, the EU Ambassador commented with journalists on several issues, including Georgia’s prospects for joining the EU’s Common Transit System, the upcoming 2024 parliamentary elections and the monitoring of the electoral process, the 9 steps that Georgia needs to implement in order to move forward in EU accession negotiations, and the latest edition of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) Index.

Prospects and benefits of joining the European Transit System

Ambassador Herczyński emphasized the EU’s support for Georgia’s tax and customs revenues and stated that the EU will continue to support the country, especially now that it has already been granted candidate status for membership. “It’s only a matter of time, when Georgia will become a member of the European Union, and Georgian borders will become European Union external borders,” – the Ambassador said, adding that the Union needs to be sure that Georgia’s borders will be well protected for the security not only of the country, but also of all EU member states.

EU observation of the 2024 parliamentary elections

The EU Ambassador stated that the free and fair elections is an integral part of the nine steps identified by the European Commission. Therefore, he said, the EU will follow the elections very closely. He also noted the Georgian government’s request to the OSCE/ODIR for long-term observation, which, according to the Ambassador, is also supported by EU member states. He said that EU member states are currently discussing whether and how the European Union will participate in election observation. The Ambassador stressed that the EU “will be watching not only the elections themselves, not only the election day, but also the whole electoral campaign very closely.” He said that he hopes that there will be a level playing field, and “that every political party will have enough space in order to engage and present their programmes and that first and foremost, there will be no violence, because electoral violence is absolutely unacceptable in any democratic country.”

Nine steps and progress in fulfilling them

Ambassador Herczyński, recalling a day of granting Georgia the EU candidate status, stressed the need for the country to move forward. “Actually granting the candidate status is not the end, it’s only the beginning of the hard work towards Georgia becoming member of the European Union,” – said Ambassador, adding that the EU hopes that the work will be accelerated, inclusive and constructive, adding that “of course, Georgia will be assessed”. Paweł Herczyński expressed his hope that the country will move to the next stage of opening accession negotiations, which “will be based on progress made on the nine steps”.

Asked whether he has seen any progress of the Government to this regard, Ambassador Herczyński said that since “only couple of weeks” have passed sine the nine steps were agreed, “it is too early to say about progress.” However, he expressed hope that “the progress will be made, and that the progress will be made very quickly.”

Eastern Partnership (EaP) Index, Necessary Reforms

Asked to comment on the latest edition of the EaP Index and its assessment of Georgia, Ambassador Herczyński said: “I can only encourage all authorities to accelerate work.” He then reiterated the importance of the necessary reforms that the country needs to implement, which, he said, is up to Georgia. “These reforms have been set not to please Brussels or anyone else. They have been identified in order to make Georgia stronger, stable democratic country,” – said the Ambassador. He emphasized that all the reforms must be fulfilled, “otherwise, if unprepared, it will disrupt the way the European Union is functioning and all the benefits of membership of the European Union will not be realized. So all those reforms are absolutely necessary,” – Herczyński affirmed.

The Ambassador noted that the EU Delegation in Georgia is ready to coordinate the work on necessary reforms with all the instruments at its disposal. He also noted that although the election campaign in Georgia is about to start, the country will continue working on reforms in parallel, “so that as soon as possible we can move to the next stage in the European integration process and open accession negotiations,” – said Ambassador Herczyński. “We want to see Georgia a strong, stable country, with very strong, well-functioning, professional institutions, and we want to welcome Georgia as a member of the European Union as quickly as possible. So yes, the work should accelerate,” stressed the Head of EU Delegation to Georgia.

Also Read:

• 26/12/2023 – Government’s Plan of Measures to Implement European Commission’s Nine Steps\
• 17/11/2023 – Q&A: What Next for Progress on Georgia’s EU Membership Path

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