We are sure that although we were granted candidate status late, we will join EU much earlier than Ukraine and Moldova: Kobakhidze

Even last year, we deserved the opening of negotiations, not to mention candidate status – and we deserve it even more in December 2024. We hope that a fair decision will be made, Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said at the briefing held at the party’s office.

 

Kobakhidze is sure that Georgia will be able to join the European Union earlier than Ukraine and Moldova, despite the fact that it received the candidate status later. To support his opinion, Kobakhidze noted that Georgia is ahead of Ukraine and Moldova in many directions, including democracy and human rights.

 

“If not in 2024, it will definitely happen in 2025, although we think that this decision should be made in 2024. Even last year, we deserved the opening of negotiations, not to mention candidate status. Although it is a political issue, we cannot go into it deeply. We believe that we deserved the opening of negotiations last year as well, and we deserve it even more in December 2024. We hope that a fair decision will be made.

 

We have proven in all cases that no matter what turbulent political processes we go through, in the end, we manage to achieve our goal. We showed this very clearly in the case of candidate status. There were difficult processes, the most difficult processes, but we led these processes to success, to obtaining candidate status. We can make the same promise to the public regarding the opening of negotiations. The negotiations will definitely open and we are sure, I can tell you with a guarantee, that we will enter the European Union before Ukraine and Moldova.

 

Candidate status was not granted to us last year, but it was granted to us this year, nothing has changed in practice, we have not fallen behind in anything. You remember that each time we received the start of specific processes from the EU later than Ukraine and Moldova, for example, in our case, the negotiations on the signing of the association agreement, the signing of the DCFTA, the negotiations on visa liberalization started later, but in all three cases we achieved those goals earlier than Ukraine and Moldova. Political decisions are one thing, but, in the end, everyone sees that Georgia is much ahead of both Ukraine and Moldova, especially after these difficult processes that are in Ukraine and that have spread to Moldova from an economic point of view. We are much more advanced in all respects. In such conditions, we are sure that although we were granted the candidate status late, we will join the European Union much earlier than them,” said Kobakhidze.