Strasbourg, 04/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 3-4 February during the visit of Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to Brussels, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso called on Georgia to continue its efforts in terms of rule of law. “I urged the prime minister to continue to pay careful attention to defending political pluralism and media freedom”, said Barroso, as Van Rompuy and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle had also done. Like Van Rompuy, Barroso stressed “the importance of ensuring that criminal prosecutions are evidence-based, transparent, free of political motivation, impartial and fully in line with democratic values”.
Van Rompuy and Barroso also emphasised human rights - particularly minority rights “which are vital and have to be taken as a priority”, Barroso said. “The adoption of the anti-discrimination law is important in order to make progress in the visa liberalisation dialogue”, Van Rompuy stated. The Georgian government is fully committed to reforms on democracy, the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, human rights, minority rights, and economic and social growth, assured Garibashvili.
In his press release, Füle underlined the need to continue strengthening democratic institutions.
Priority is EU and association agreement. During his first visit to Brussels since being elected, Garibashvili welcomed the EU's support on Georgia's path of European integration, stressing that the “process is irreversible”. European integration is “the cornerstone” of Georgia's foreign and domestic policy, which is supported by the people and the main political parties, he said.
Garibashvili stated that the priority is to sign the association agreement as quickly as possible - “not later than August 2014 as the European Council said” on 20 December (see EUROPE 10989), he reiterated, stating that while implementation is a challenge, Georgia will complete the reforms and will bring its laws closer to those of the EU in all sectors. “We are ready to keep our commitments and to transform them into concrete action and into policies for the benefit of our citizens”, Garibashvili added. He stated that the EU's technical and financial assistance will be “crucial”, founded on differentiation and the principle of “more for more”.
Barroso, Van Rompuy and Garibashvili also spoke of the integrity of Georgian territory in the face of pressure from Russia. Barroso and Van Rompuy expressed their concern at the erection of physical barriers on Georgian territory. “We reaffirm our commitment for a peaceful solution”, said Barroso, who - like Van Rompuy - hailed the diplomatic contact between Tbilisi and Moscow. (CG/transl.fl)