European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that the Commission recommends candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova, but a European perspective for Georgia, however, the country first needs to meet certain conditions before reaching candidate status.
“Georgia must now come together politically to design a clear path towards structural reform and the EU. So we recommend granting the European perspective, but to come back and assess how it meets a number of conditions before granting it candidate status,” Ursula von der Leyen said.
She noted that Georgia’s application has strengths, including the market orientation of its economy, and a strong private sector.
However, she added, to succeed “the country now needs to come together politically, to design a clear path towards structural reform, a path that concretely sets out necessary reforms, brings on board civil society, and benefits from broad political support.”
Regarding Ukraine, she said the Commission recommends giving the country candidate status, as the country carried out a number of important reforms and achieved progress in terms of fighting corruption in the last 8 years. The Commission also recommends candidate status for Moldova.
By Ana Dumbadze
