The Foreign Minister of Georgia complains/ "We are treated unfairly by the EU

2023-06-28 14:11:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Foreign Minister of Georgia complains/ "We are treated unfairly by the

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, has said that Georgia has been treated unfairly by the European Union by not receiving the EU candidate status alongside Ukraine and Moldova.

After talks with his Georgian counterparts, Minister Szijjártó said that Georgia has made significant progress in meeting the requirements to become a candidate for EU membership.

He also emphasized that Hungary does not see any obstacle for Georgia to receive the status in the next fall season, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

This is not the first time that Minister Szijjártó has shared such comments about Georgia's EU candidate status.

Regarding Hungary, he explains that last week, during the talks that the EU has on the integration of the Western Balkans, Minister Szijjártó noted that Georgia "is waiting to be allowed" and at the same time emphasized that "Georgia is not in a worse state", than Ukraine and Moldova.

The Minister further emphasized that he has continuously provided assistance to Georgia in fulfilling the requirements set by the EU and emphasized that the EU Commission and member states do not use double standards in the case of Georgia.

Georgia applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, and in June of the same year, the EU Council discussed its application and declared its willingness to grant Georgia this status, provided that the country fulfills its all requirements determined by the Commission.

"On June 23, 2022, the European Council discussed Georgia's application for EU membership. The European Council stated that it was ready to grant Georgia the status of a candidate country after the priorities specified in the Commission's opinion on Georgia's membership application have been addressed," the Council explained.

The EU Council approves the enlargement conclusions every year, taking into account the improvements made by the candidate countries. In December 2022, Georgia was referred to for the first time in the conclusions of the Council.

At that time, the Council acknowledged all the important steps the country has taken in its reform process and at the same time, encouraged the country to address the opportunities specified in the Commission's opinion on Georgia's membership in order to be granted the status of the candidate.

The Council also emphasized the need for deepening sectoral cooperation with Georgia based on the expanded implementation of the Georgia-EU free trade area./ CNA