The Speaker, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili held a meeting with the President of the Federal Council of Austria, Mag.a Claudia Arpa.

Speaker Papuashvili gave a positive assessment of the recent dynamics of the development of Georgia-Austria relations and underlined the importance of high-level visits. He thanked the Austrian side for supporting the territorial integrity of Georgia and the years-long engagement of the Austrian Development Agency in Georgia.

Shalva Papuashvili welcomed the recommendation issued by the European Commission concerning the granting of the EU candidate status to Georgia and extended his hopes for the official receipt of the status in December. In this regard, he hoped to count on Austria’s support.

Mme. Arpa noted that this visit is the first visit of the Bundesrat to the Parliament of Georgia; she congratulated Georgia on a positive recommendation of the European Commission and accentuated the importance of compliance with 9 priorities set out by the European Commission. The parties touched upon the economic progress of Georgia and the democratic development, placing emphasis on the importance of successful elections in 2024.

The Speaker overviewed the steps taken by Georgia in view of the fulfillment of the EU 12 recommendations.

The parties underlined the joint events purposed to raising awareness of the youth on democracy and encouragement of civil education, the letter of intent on which was signed within the framework of the visit of the President of the National Council of Austria, Wolfgang Sobotka.