EU Ambassador on Nine Conditions: Time is Running, Progress Needs to be Made
On March 22, EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński called on the Georgian government to speed up the reforms needed to implement the European Commission’s nine conditions. Speaking at the EU-sponsored “Women Mentorship in Tech Programs” organized by Business and Technology University (BTU), he reiterated that the EU’s doors are open and that “it is now time for Georgians to walk through those doors.”
The Ambassador was asked to comment on the statement by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, who described the European Council’s decision to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina as “unfair” to Georgia. Papuashvili stated that even if Georgia doesn’t meet the nine conditions, it will still be ahead of Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that “this injustice is very unfortunate on the part of the European Union and shows once again that unfortunately decisions are not based on merit…Georgia and the Georgian people are unfairly deprived by such unjust decisions.”
Ambassador Herczyński noted that the EU leaders are “serious about enlargement” and work continues to “prepare ground for big enlargement”. However, the countries who wish to join the EU are encouraged to “accelerate preparations”.
“The leaders have encouraged Georgia to step up efforts to reform, to implement nine steps. There is still time and I sincerely hope that enough progress will be made in order for Georgia to also move to the next stage which is opening of the accession negotiations, but this requires serious work and this is what I have been sharing with you since day one. Time is running and progress needs to be made. The road-map is very clear, nine steps. We need to seat down together and make sure that time is not wasted and that within next few month we will have enough progress so that we will move to the next stage,” – he stated.
In addition, the EU Ambassador stressed that the EU’s doors are open and “it’s now time for Georgians to walk through those doors… If for whatever reason you feel that you need more time or you need to reflect further or that there are other priorities than EU integration, it’s your choice. As European Union we will respect whatever choice is made here in Tbilisi”.
Ambassador Herczyński also spoke about the upcoming elections in Georgia in 2024. He reiterated his call for the process to be as free and fair as possible, for the Georgian government to ensure that all political parties have the opportunity to present themselves and campaign freely, and for all citizens of Georgia, both inside and outside the country, “to have the right to express their vote in free, fair, and secret elections”.
Finally, the EU Ambassador was asked for his views on the vetoed and later overturned amendments to the Electoral Code, which are widely believed not to be in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. The Ambassador stated: “For us, Venice commission is the highest international standard setter. The Parliament decided what it decided. We will be assisting and working together with the authorities to make sure that the electoral process is as free, as fair as possible, up to their highest international standard.”
Also Read:
- 21/03/2024 – EU Delegation Answers Questions from the Public
- 01/02/2024 – EU Ambassador Talks Election Monitoring Importance at ISFED’s Election Support Project Launch
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
