The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, met the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, MPs Iratxe García Pérez and Marina Kaljurand on his official trip to Brussels today.
Spokesperson Papuashvili summarized the meetings, saying they had received assurances that the EU would expedite the bureaucratic procedures for drafting Georgia’s application questionnaire. He said the application had already been sent to the relevant departments.
“If the proceedings have taken months in other cases, they will now most likely be completed in a few weeks.”
Georgia belongs to the European family, says the President kingdom of the forest
President Roberta Metsola tweeted after the meeting that the European Parliament recognized Georgia’s application for EU membership.
She claimed Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova “are part of the European family”.
But President Metsola also said: “Rule of law, independent judiciary [and] Genuine parliamentary dialogue is essential for democracy.”
Spokesman Papuashvili, for his part, hailed President Metsola as “a real supporter who supports Georgia’s return to the European family”.
The Georgian spokesman added that “concrete steps of cooperation” between the Georgian and European Parliaments will be taken in the near future.
other meetings
At a meeting with Commissioner Reynders, the sides discussed Georgia’s application for EU membership and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the press service of the Georgian Parliament said.
The Georgian speaker and EU official also addressed reforms being carried out to align Georgia’s laws with EU legislation and spoke about the importance of the rule of law, human rights and judicial reform.
Spokesman Papuashvili also stressed the importance of the European Commission’s opinion on Georgia’s application for EU membership, according to the same report.
The perspective of EU membership for Ukraine and Georgia was the focus of Speaker Papuashvili’s meeting with MPs from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Pérez and Kaljurand.
The S&D “are ready to help fulfill the European aspirations of the Georgian people, but we expect progress on democratic reforms and the rule of law,” S&D leader Pérez tweeted after the meeting.
The Georgian delegation will visit the Belgian capital between March 29th and April 1st. It also includes the deputy speaker Levan Ioselianiand Chair and Vice-Chair of the European Integration Committee – Maka Bochorishvili and Levan Karumidze, respectively.
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