Today, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, as part of his visit to Brussels, met with European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi.
The meeting focused on the key directions of Georgia-EU relations and the agenda of the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit. The parties emphasized the importance of ensuring that the summit’s political declaration maximally reflects issues prioritized by Georgia. The meeting reiterated the strategic importance of the Eastern Partnership to the EU and reaffirmed strong support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
During the meeting, the Head of Government pointed out such important issues prioritized by Georgia as gradual integration into the EU single market and empowering energy and digital connectivity, including through tapping into the full potential of the Black Sea.
The conversation also revolved around the adoption of the new Eastern Partnership agenda to foster the empowerment of the partner countries’ security, economic, institutional, societal, environmental, and digital transformation mechanisms. The new agenda seeks to achieve concrete results through the new EU External Investment Plan.
The Head of Government thanked European Commissioner Várhelyi for presenting the economic investment plan for the Eastern Partnership member states during his recent visit to Georgia, also adding that the Georgian government is taking active steps toward implementing relevant projects. PM Garibashvili singled out the importance of support from the European Commission and the EU member states in this effort.
The meeting at the European Commission underlined Georgia’s progress on the path toward European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as the reforms implemented under the Association Agreement. The Prime Minister emphasized the government’s ambitious plans for Georgia to officially apply for full EU membership in 2024, adding that reforms will continue to that end.
