Tbilisi, 01/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 29 September, Georgia's Minister of State for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alex Petriashvili announced that his country wanted the next Eastern Partnership summit, due to take place in May 2015, to be the opportunity to underline the perspectives for European accession for the three countries that signed an association agreement with the EU. “We are preparing for the [Eastern Partnership] summit in Riga next May. We hope that the summit will be historical and an opportunity for us to hear a message on the perspectives for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine as regards the EU. We are counting on the EU's support in these perspectives”, he said during the CORLEAP meeting in Tbilisi. Up until now, some member states have refused to refer to Article 49 on accession - which is dear to the Eastern Partnership countries.
Association agreement is first step towards accession. Petriashvili also spoke about the association agreement that was signed and ratified by his country. “The association agreement is not an end in itself between the EU and Georgia. It's the beginning of the process that will lead Georgia to becoming a member of the EU”, he said. In the view of the president of the Committee of the Regions, Michel Lebrun, “Georgia's commitment within the Eastern Partnership and European integration has been shown in concrete terms by the signature of the association agreement”. “This is only the starting point. The bulk of the difficult work in implementing it remains to be done”, he warned.
“The government will do everything possible to implement the economic reforms that aim at Georgia's full integration in the EU”, said Petriashvili. In his view, the ongoing reforms, and those that are planned, make the Europeanisation of his country “irreversible”. He stated that a poll showed that 80% of the people supported Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Petriashvili also said that a decision was expected “next year” on a visa-free regime for Georgian citizens who want to visit the EU, as is now the case for Moldovan citizens. “It is very important for people to be able to move closer together more effectively”, he said. (CG)