Georgia’s foreign minister on Friday said his country would go “further, faster” to achieve EU candidate status as France’s top diplomat urged Tbilisi to implement “brave reforms”.
The European Union denied Georgia candidate status in June 2022 while awarding it to Ukraine and Moldova. It called on Tbilisi to reform the justice and electoral systems, improve press freedom and limit the power of oligarchs.
“We still have ground to cover,” Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili told reporters.
“We’re all highly motivated, we all aim to fulfil the obligations” to obtain candidate status, promising to go “further, faster”, he added.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna urged Georgia to seize a “historic opportunity” by meeting the 12 recommendations set by Brussels, following a meeting with Darchiashvili in the capital Tbilisi.
These would include “brave reforms to guarantee the independence and impartiality of justice, protecting institutions from the influence of private interests, guaranteeing press freedom and pluralism,” she told journalists.
Darchiashvili said more than 80 draft laws had already been started and a “huge part” of the recommendations had already been implemented.
Colonna, however, warned there was still “work to do”.
The European Council is due to review Georgia’s progress in its reform programme later this year.
Source : Macau Business.com