German Ambassador to Georgia Hubert Knirsch on Wednesday said, “Georgian businesses are very aware of the situation, they know about the risks and burdens that are going to come, and they are very actively looking for the ways how to mitigate the effects and how to actually strengthen the Georgian economy.”
After the round-table, conveyed by the EU-Georgia Business Chamber, the German Ambassador stressed the need to rev up efforts to increase the business and the economic ties between Georgia and Europe.
“One part of it is finding better access to the market of the European Union, to export more Georgian products to Europe. This is the time to step up efforts to increase the business and the economic ties between Georgia and Europe and both sides, Georgia and European Union, including my country Germany, to make great efforts to move this forward,” he underscored.
Asked whether Georgian business is ready to trade with Europe, the Ambassador said, “many Georgian businesses are already trading with the EU, some fields work very nicely. We have seen in 2016 when Russia imposed an embargo on Georgia wines, the wine export to the EU really started, and a wine laboratory was established which made this possible. This model has to be repeated in other fields as well.”
As to the question on Georgia’s readiness to become the European Union member and its steps taken in this regard, Hubert Knirsch stated that “all these, of course, require further effort.”
“I know that it is a strong wish of all Georgians to be a member country of the EU and to be a European country in the full sense with European living standards, with a European base of working with European base of education. All these, of course, require further effort. It is something which can not be done in Brussels, it has to be done here, and it will take more time, but it is very good that the consciousness, that these efforts need to be made, is raising now and that people are looking for the ways to accelerate Georgia’s way to the EU,” he noted.
The EU invites its associated partners to join its sanctions. What is means concretely in the case of Georgia, what Georgia can do and should do is the subject of discussions that we are having with the Georgian government, and I expect these discussions will move forward and come to results in the coming days.
German Ambassador responded to a question about the statement of the representative of the Ukrainian embassy, saying if Georgia wants to join the EU, it should join the European sanctions against Russia.
Knirsch said, “the EU invites its associated partners to join its sanctions. What is means concretely in the case of Georgia, what Georgia can do and should do is the subject of discussions that we are having with the Georgian government, and I expect these discussions will move forward and come to results in the coming days.”
