Brussels hosted the 12th sitting of the EU- Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee (PAC) co-presided by Maka Botchorishvili and Marina Kaljurand.

The sitting was attended by the Parliamentary Delegation of Georgia and the Delegation of the European Parliament, as well as the representatives of the executive structures of Georgia, the Georgian Public Defender Office and the EU institutions. The Committee accentuated compliance with the EU recommendations and the MEPs were provided with detailed information about the steps taken by Georgia in this direction. As was highlighted, compliance of the EU recommendations is set as a high priority for Georgia for receiving the EU candidacy in December.

“The application submitted by Georgia in 2022 for EU membership is set as a constitutional goal of the country backed by over 80% of the population of Georgia. After the historical decision of the Council of the European Union, we expect the EU to take an intact step and grant the EU candidate status to Georgia this year to advance our country to a new stage of relations with the EU. It is imperative that the Georgian Government, in view of the achievement of the hereof goal, keeps fulfillment of the EU recommendations and as of the current stage, we declare that the greatest part of the recommendations has already been fulfilled and Georgia possesses the potential to open new geopolitical opportunities and contribute to the wider European security and welfare. We expect the EU to, based on the equitable assessments, take the pivotal step and grant the EU candidate status to Georgia this year, which will encourage our progress at the European road along with other candidate states. I cherish the hope that the European Parliament will facilitate this decision and today’s sitting of our Committee will set the foundation for this positive dynamics”, - M. Botchorishvili stated.

The next PAC sitting is scheduled to be held in Tbilisi. The Parliamentary Delegation was represented by Maka Botchorishvili, Levan Karumidze, Maia Bitadze, Khatia Tsilosani, Giorgi Chakvetadze, Eka Sepashvili, Hermann Szabo and Ana Tsitlidze.